Climate Shift
by Equivamp
Summary: This is Twilight as Jasper watched it unfold. Insight to Edward's changing emotions and life with the Cullens.
1. Exodus

**A/N: **

**This story was inspired by the idea of Midnight Sun and Twilight. I do not own the characters and I only embelished on what Stephanie Meyer had already created. This story has more chapters than the original Twilight because of my embelishments. I hope you enjoy Jasper's take on Twilight!**

**P.S. I love reviews! Tell me what you think!**

* * *

I glanced slyly at Alice. She didn't notice, probably to busy "watching" me. Her eyes were _physically_ pointed out the window, but the blank look in them spoke volumes. Aside from that, I could feel her genuine concern. It was annoying being watched all the time, and for a split second I considered replacing her concern, then thought better of it. She should be concerned about my immediate future. I was concerned about it.

I was thirsty. Very thirsty. Sitting in a lunchroom, that was currently filled with weak, defenseless, warm bodied children… My throat burned. They could fix that. This is a lunchroom after all… No. No. I mustn't think that way.

My eyes flicked to Edward. He caught that last train of thought. His whole body was tensed as he stared at me, but something about the thought amused him, I could feel that, see it in his twitching lip… But he was worried too. He should worry.

I gazed out the window like Alice.

In my opinion, this whole charade was stupid. Dangerous. The whole point of the "vegetarian" lifestyle was to preserve human life. Sitting in classrooms with them everyday was like dropping a mouse in to the cage of a hungry cobra. We are the predators. They are the prey. We are hungry… it's a simple matter of mathematics really, one plus one equals two, thirsty predator plus juicy prey equals dinner…

"Jasper," Edward whispered. Emmett looked at me out of the corner of his eye. He was curious. What had Edward heard to make him break his silence? He was also cautious. Maybe he didn't want to intrude on my thoughts. That was unusual for him. He never worried about anything least of all offending someone. This life was a game for him. Emmett must already have an idea of what my issue is… He must not want to push it. That was… nice of him. If that was the reason behind his caution.

Rosalie didn't care. She barely acknowledged the fact that Edward had spoken at all. Self-satisfaction. I could guess the reasons for that; she was pretty and she knew it. A sharp burst of desire as her eyes lingered on Emmett's form. Great, just what I need. Another horny teenager. Get a grip Rose.

Hormones have these kids' emotions running rampant. I could feel insecure, neurotic, jealous, unhappy, lovesick, heartbroken, excited, conceited, amused, lust, angry, misunderstood…You get the picture.

There was also curiosity. Yes, everyone was curious today. There was a new girl that had everyone excited, curious. Chief Swan's girl. Barbara? Becky? Bella, that was it. Who cares, really, what's another set of hormones?

Irritation. Alice's irritation. I didn't like her to be irritated, or have any form of negative emotion really. It wasn't like her. Alice usually conducts her life in a sphere of effervescence. Moreover, I want her to be happy. I love her to much to tolerate anything that causes her to be anything but happy. She should always be happy. She deserves happiness.

_Happy,_ I thought concentrating on Alice. I watched as a soft smile drifted over her face, then her eyes snapped into focus. She looked it me. I could see the accusation in her eyes, but she was amused too. She grinned. I would do anything for that grin. I'd go to high school, pretend to be just another hormonal teenager, tolerate the raging inferno growing in my throat everyday for the rest of eternity for that grin.

Okay, maybe I'm whining too much. This climate is definitely an improvement over the last… Fighting for my life while others fought me for theirs. Hate and fear. The shock of terror mingling with hopelessness as my opponents realized they didn't stand a chance against my skill. The shallow thrill of victory as I, and my surviving comrades, surveyed the broken bodies on the battlefield. The pleading, begging, desperation of the spoils of war: Human Un-Happy Meals.

Alice stood and exited the room. She must have decided I'm not going to kill anyone today. What a relief… for _them_ anyway. I still have to suffer.

Edward was mildly surprised and then bored. The boredom was nothing new. Pretending to be human held no more interest for him than it did for me. I glanced at Edward again, but he was staring at the new girl. He looked away quickly. I caught her embarrassment. Evidently she hadn't meant for him to catch her staring. Funny how they stared at us. We were beautiful to them. Even me.

I bet Bella wouldn't stare so boldly, if she could see a little clearer. If she could see the scars on my face, my neck, I bet she wouldn't find me beautiful anymore. She'd be the first student here to understand how much danger she and her classmates were in.

Realization mixed with surprise, and… curiosity? Edward's boredom was gone. His expression changed as if something occurred to him that had not before. He turned to look at the new girl again. Edward found the new girl interesting? What had she thought?

His realization moved to make room for frustration. She was frustrating him? What had she thought?

In spite of myself I listened in on her conversation, a little curious too.

Jessica Stanley was talking about Edward. Mentioning how he doesn't date. Explaining how Bella shouldn't put efforts in to pursuing him. The Stanley girl was annoyed. The Swan girl didn't feel infatuated though. Just curious.

Edward looked away again. He was uneasy. The new girl had made him uneasy? What? Was she a serial killer, planning on taking out her peers, and had her plans injured his morals? He glared at me now as he listened to my thoughts heavily tainted with sarcasm.

"Shut up," he muttered. I needed fresh air, before I settled into a cramped classroom. I needed to clear my head. I needed to clear my heart too. Sometimes its hard to feel my own emotions surrounded by those of so many others. I rose to leave, my siblings did too. They must want to watch me. Yeah, that's just what I need four babysitters.

The atmosphere at home with my family is easier. Edward feels mostly content, though a twinge of annoyance every now and then. Not that I blame him for the annoyance. It must be annoying, to be the only single in a house full of couples. Maybe he should date. Not Jessica, clearly, but Tanya was sweet on him… Emmett's often amused at something or other, not easily worried. It was easy to be with him. Rosalie, conceited maybe, but at least she knows who she is. Her future is secure. Carlisle, always patient and kind, his future was never in question despite what he thinks. Esme. She was delightful to be around. Compassionate and loving… I was barely in her life for five minutes and she was ready to call me her son.

Alice. Beautiful Alice. Loving Alice. Happy Alice. My Alice. She found me. She saved me. I will never let myself lose her. I will never let her be hurt. Alice. My light, my love, my Alice.

* * *

We met up at the car after school, all except one. Edward wasn't there. Odd. He always beat us to the car.

"Where is he?" Rosalie complained.

The doors were locked and Edward had the keys. She wasn't really annoyed with being forced to stand while we waited. No doubt she was enjoying the extra stares we were receiving as others climbed into their car. The annoyance probably came from the principle of the thing. Her having to wait for him. Rosalie waits for nobody. Except maybe Emmett.

"What's he doing?" Rosalie whined again looking at Alice.

Alice's eyes glazed over as she spoke, "He's… changing classes?" She sounded unsure.

"Are you asking or telling," Emmett said with a chuckle.

"Telling. He's trying to get out of biology. Ms. Cope's going to tell him no."

"Why is he doing that?" I asked.

Alice shrugged but I could feel her confusion.

The Volvo beeped and flashed its lights. Rosalie and Emmett climbed in immediately. Not me. Not Alice.

I was frozen by Edward's feelings. Panic. Fear. Anger. Thirst. Intense thirst. Alice didn't need to feel him. His emotions were clear enough in his wild eyes. She was frozen as her mind searched for what had upset him.

"Your running away?" Alice gasped.

Edward's anger spiked at the phrase "running away". I shifted my weight to put myself between him and her but he was already darting around to his door. As Alice and I climbed into the car I noticed Rosalie and Emmett had finally noticed Edward's extreme behavior. They had seen him move around the car… too fast. We weren't supposed to move like that in front of humans. Edward made a mistake moving like that… He never makes mistakes. Edward made a mistake. Something was very wrong.


	2. What Are The Odds?

Edward was gone and Alice couldn't see him coming back. It left the rest of us on edge. I remember that night when Carlisle had explained to us what happened…

We were convened in the dining room, all but two. Edward and Carlisle were still missing and Alice was certain Edward was not returning anytime soon. He was heading up to the Denali coven. It was a little ironic considering my thoughts after lunch, but I couldn't enjoy the irony. Mainly because this separation was painful to Alice. I hated anything that upset Alice. She and Edward were very close and his unexpected exodus frightened her… Mainly because it was so unexpected. Also because he hadn't told her _why._

Carlisle would have been home by now except an emergency had arrived at the hospital. Alice had seen that Edward would go to Carlisle before leaving town. Carlisle would know what was wrong. He would explain.

I was controlling the situation as best I could. Everybody _had_ been anxious. Now they were calm. Except for me. I had originally assumed my anxiety was a byproduct of theirs. After all, Edward was an adult (sort of) and he was more than capable of looking after himself, so there was no need to be concerned, right? But even as I washed away their fears, mine remained.

Edward had left and he didn't tell us why it was necessary or where he was going. But I remembered the emotions emitting from Edward, the urgency and the panic, and I knew the departure _was_ necessary. I asked Alice if she could find the catalyst, if she could see what would make Edward so willingly abandon us. She tried, but she didn't understand what she saw any better. What she saw was Bella Swan's confused face.

I decided not to mention the incident at lunch. Not yet. They were worried enough. Besides I wasn't sure that that moment could qualify as an incident. The strange exchange of emotions between Edward an Bella may have been irrelevant to the present situation. It was better to wait for Carlisle. Then we could hear it. The sound of the Volvo's engine slowing on the freeway, the tires hitting the drive; the speed was unusually fast even for Carlisle. Not bothering to go to the garage, he stopped just out front. He must have known we'd be waiting.

The second Carlisle entered Esme flitted to his side. She put a hand on his arm and looked into his face. I released my hold on my family's emotions and concentrated on his. Worry. Patience. Sadness. A touch of pride.

"Well? What happened?" Rosalie asked impatiently.

Carlisle let out a sigh before answering. "Edward had a class with Bella Swan today. He said that she smells better than any he has ever met. Her blood calls to him. He left to prevent himself from taking her life."

There was silence for a second as understanding sank in.

"He didn't have to go. He could have stayed. He could have quit school and-" Esme began -- she didn't like Edward's leaving anymore than Alice -- but Carlisle didn't let her finish.

"Esme, if he stayed, he might have decided to go looking for her… Leaving was the best choice for him," he said softly, putting a comforting hand on her cheek as he spoke. "He made the right decision."

Irina had called us this morning to let us know he had checked in. Edward was pretty shaken up and he wouldn't tell them what was wrong. All that he had said was that he needed to go hunting immediately. He left the car in their drive and took off running. Tanya had caught up with him and told him to call home, but he didn't want to call home. Tanya wanted to respect his wishes, but Irina decided that no matter his problem, Edward was being childish. She did not feel so inclined to respect his wishes.

We appreciated the call. I doubted Edward would when he found out.

I felt unbelievably guilty. Everyone was worried about Edward, but now that I understood the reason for his absence I couldn't help being a little… smug. So Edward had a weakness after all, did he? Maybe now _he_ won't be so smug next time I leave class early to "see the nurse" because I can't ignore my desire to sink my teeth into the teacher's throat…

School wasn't so bad for me anymore. That first week was brutal. But things were easier now thanks to Carlisle's brilliant planning. To ensure that I would never be alone with the _normal_ children, to ensure that the risk of me slaughtering an entire classroom was small as possible, Carlisle ensured that Rosalie would be with me at all times. The story in town was that me and Rosalie were twins -- humans never looked close enough to see that our only trait in common was the blonde hair -- and we were also foster children. Carlisle took the stereotype that all foster children have "problems" and milked it for all it was worth. Carlisle had persuaded the school to change my schedule due to the fact that I had psychological disorder that caused me to have severe separation anxiety whenever I had to be separated from my beloved twin. He had explained that for the sake of my well being it would be safer if she and I could share classes. I nearly choked on my grizzly when he was explaining this one to me.

Of course the school administrators didn't argue with Carlisle, he was a doctor, he knew what he was talking about, right? Of course not one of them had wanted to argue either, who would want to upset the talented, kind, handsome new doctor and his lovely wife? Who would want to risk having Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's mentally deranged foster son having some kind of manic episode and terrorizing their children?

So here I am sitting in Chemistry with Rosalie as my lab partner. Today was a lecture day, not a lab, for which I was grateful. Some of the chemicals used in the labs smell awful. Of course the teacher never called on me, none of them ever called on me, unless I raised my hand which I rarely did. The reason for that was I often gave off a very distinct vibe, one that the humans can never seem to explain, and that vibe was _thirsty._ I could fix the issue, make them feel more comfortable, more inclined to interact with me, but what was the point? I already knew everything they were teaching. I'd taken this class before.

Erin Derby, the worst student in the class, late again, had been walking to the front desk to hand in her homework. She was an idiot. A boy across the room had winked at her and she paused to smile at him. She was also _too_ close. The way her head turned, pulling the skin tight on her neck, revealing the point where her warm blood pulsed so invitingly…

_Urgency,_ I aimed at Rosalie. She sucked in a sharp breath as the emotion hit her without warning. She glanced at me and then at Erin. I turned my attention to the black board and concentrated on counting the scratches.

"Erin?" Rosalie called the name sharply.

I couldn't see the girl's expression but I could feel the intensity of her surprise from being addressed by Rosalie.

"Are you going to stand their all day? You know, some of us actually would like to graduate this year..." Rosalie's tone was not friendly and the girl took the hint almost immediately.

Lunch was easier. We always sat away from the other students. Mainly so no one would notice we weren't eating. Also, who in their right minds would want to sit with us?

Alice was off in her head again. Looking for Edward. Looking for Bella. Looking for me. It's a wonder her head didn't explode. I couldn't take my eyes off of her, what was she seeing? I knew her well enough not to ask just yet; I could feel her concentration. Luckily Emmett couldn't feel her concentration.

"What's he doing?" Emmett asked.

All three of us looked at Alice now.

"Nothing. He's just sitting in a snow drift a foot away from a half drained bear." Alice shrugged and the frowned.

"And _her_?" Rosalie asked.

"As far as I can tell she doesn't know anything. She's going grocery shopping after school." Alice giggled.

"It's not funny Alice," Rosalie snapped. "What if she noticed something… _off?_ Edward's the only one who can tell us what's going on inside her head and he's on an extended hunting trip…"

"Rose, it's a little more than a hunting trip," Emmett attempted to soothe her. "Besides I doubt the girl knows anything even if she noticed something. Humans aren't exactly as smart as they think they are… What are the odds she'd be the one to figure it out?"

On this point I agreed with Rosalie. Emmett's assessment was flawed; what were the odds that someone who smelled that way to Edward would end up moving to the same town as he did? Slim to none, and yet… We needed to know what she was thinking. We needed Edward. The problem was that we needed Edward to be in the one place he couldn't afford to be.

The week passed slowly. Tanya called on Wednesday night to inform us of a failed attempt to send him home. Carlisle assured her that there was no reason for her to worry, but I could feel his amusement. I ascertained from that that Tanya's luck with Edward on other matters had not improved. It wasn't until Friday night that we all got a little hopeful.

Alice had a sudden stab of excitement and blurted out, "He's coming home!"

The room that had been vacant but for the two of us was suddenly filled.

"When?" I asked.

"Sunday night. He's traveling at human speed, he's not in a hurry." She answered.

"Why?" I asked. Did she see why he would want to risk returning?

"I'm not sure, but he's going back to school."

"Has he lost his mind?" Emmett asked cheerfully.

"Emmett!" Rosalie snapped.

Everyone felt relieved and hopeful. But Rosalie was also stressed about something. Emmett found something amusing. Esme was pleased. Carlisle felt concerned. Alice was excited.


	3. Edward's Return

Of course Alice was right. On Sunday night we heard the Mercedes announcing Edward's return. We were all trying to look like we weren't waiting. I saw no point to the charade. It didn't matter what we looked like because there was no way to hide what we were thinking. He would know we were waiting before he even got off the freeway. Even so, I continued to stare at whatever movie was on screen.

"Edward!" Alice exclaimed as he came through the door. She bounded to his side and threw her arms around him.

"I missed you too," Edward said giving her quick embrace.

"So you've finally decided to grace us with your presence, have you?" Rosalie teased lightly. She was too relieved to have him home to use genuine sarcasm.

"I know Emmett," Edward replied to whatever was in Emmett's head. "I'm sorry for taking off like that…" He was looking at Esme now.

"Welcome back son," Carlisle spoke now. Then he raised an eyebrow as he asked some question he didn't want the rest of us to hear. Edward nodded his head yes a couple of times. So annoying. He chuckled and looked at me. "Sorry," he said and then grinned.

I separated Edward's emotions from the others, identified them. Some relief. A lot of resolve. Remorse. A little fear. Edward ignored my thoughts this time.

"Edward," Esme hesitated and added unwillingly, "What made you come back?"

"You of course," Edward smiled at her playfully, but he couldn't hide the underlying tension from me. His eyes flicked to my face and back to hers. "I won't be run out of my home by some teenage girl. I _can_ handle this. I'll go hunting tonight, I know what to expect now, I won't be caught off guard again."

"Edward, what was her reaction to you?" Rosalie was a moment of silence and then he said quietly, "I don't know."

"Edward, this is important, did she suspect something or not?" I pushed.

"I know its important, but I can't tell you what I don't know." He hesitated then added, "I can't _hear_ her."

The significance of that statement sunk in. The silence was longer this time and filled with tension.

"Whoa." Emmett mouthed.

"Edward…" Esme was too shocked to finish a sentence.

"Well, what does that mean?" Rosalie asked sharply. This revelation made her angry although I couldn't imagine why.

"Rosalie." Carlisle warned. He was intrigued.

"Has this ever happened before?" I asked Edward. It seemed to me like it was the most important question presented to us.

"No, this is a first." His tone was icy. He was frustrated. Was this what had frustrated him at lunch?

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked.

Edward just shrugged.

Carlisle answered, "I don't know that it means anything. Everything has a weakness and everybody is a little different. Maybe what makes this girl different from others of her kind is that she exploits your ability's weakness."

Edward ground his teeth and spoke through them, "As if her smell didn't differentiate her enough…"

"Which brings another question to mind. Alice? Can he handle school tomorrow?" I asked.

We all looked at Alice but her eyes were already searching the future.

"It's indistinct, undecided... He'll either kill her or he won't…" She answered, but she wasn't finished searching, we could see that. Then she gasped and her eyes snapped into focus.

I could feel what the others could not. Surprise, joy, and fear. As she stared fixedly at the wall, I could also feel determination.

"Alice, what is it?" Esme asked.

"Alice, what was that?" Edward were both tense but curious.

"Nothing," She answered them tonelessly. Yes, she was very determined.

"Alice, what did I do?" Edward begged with a hint of panic.

"Nothing," She repeated. A new emotion now: deceptive. Alice felt deceptive? She was lying?

"What are you lying about? Alice, let me see!" Edward snarled at her, angry now.

_Calm,_ Edward.

"Alice," He said quietly, unable to find his anger again with me in the room.

"Let it go," She whispered.

"Make her tell Jasper," Edward commanded.

I _could_ make Alice tell. Compliance was a very useful emotion. But… Alice must have a good reason for keeping her vision to herself. Should I make her tell? And… forcing her to comply would hurt her. No. I wouldn't ever hurt her, she was my Alice.

Edward heard the answer in my head and I could feel him futilely searching for his anger. I wouldn't let him find it.

_Calm,_ Edward.

Alice continued to stare at the wall, concentrating on only Edward knows what, as hard as she could to keep him from the truth.

"Edward, it's late. Take your hunting trip," Carlisle interceded.

Edward hissed but complied.

I opened my mouth to ask the obvious question but Alice raised her hand and said, "Not till he's out of range."

So we a few minutes she breathed a sigh of relief and looked at me with a grin. Victorious.

"Well, what was it?" I asked.

"I can't tell you, he might hear it in your head." She grinned. "Jazz… It's _good_ news."

"You couldn't let Edward hear good news?" Carlisle was confused. He couldn't find sense in that. Neither could I.

"No, he has to learn it for himself. Don't worry, I'll tell you once he does… Although its possible he could beat me to the punch…" Her grin was impossibly big now.

"Surprise, joy, fear… Why?" I asked.

She thought for a moment and then said, "Surprised by what I saw, joy because I liked what I saw, and fear that he would see it before I could hide it. It would make him leave again. He has to learn it for himself."

* * *

Lunch again. It was more stressful than usual. Edward was as usual using his ability to keep an eye on me, but there was a change. I was watching him too. He was suddenly feeling aware. He was feeling very aware. No need to ask why.

We both heard Mike Newton announcing a little too loudly, " What's with Bella?"

He must be remembering her smell, that was my explanation for why his thirst flared, tearing through the awareness. His teeth ground together as he crushed the thirst with his fear. I did nothing yet. He needed to feel this. He needed to realize how stupid his plan was. He needed to realize the danger he was putting her, himself, and us in. He didn't have to do this and he shouldn't.

I was also aware. I was aware of Alice silently watching the both of us with her ability. I was aware of all the plump, vital, thumping hearts, accelerated with the excitement and exertion brought on by snow. I was aware of the wave of disappointment that would roll through the students when they realized the rain was washing away the precious white. I was aware I should have gone hunting with Edward last night instead of pestering Alice with fruitless questions.

Mischief from Emmett. I looked just he lurched forward with cunning smile on his face. Alice looked up in surprise -- she must have been concentrating very hard on our current problems -- and flinched back with a laugh. Rosalie grimaced and the look on her face was enough to make me laugh too. Emmett was shaking his wet curls, flicking melting snow on the two of them. With a sharp jerk of his head he sent the remaining moisture toward Edward, who chuckled in response. Even as I laughed I understood what Emmett was doing just as well as Edward did. Emmett was easing the tension because I refused to.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica Stanley's insolent tone reached our ears.

Edward's curiosity spiked and he looked over at Bella. The rest of us forced ourselves to not look. I was pretty sure if someone had taken a picture of us at this exact moment we all would have had the same frozen smile pasted our frozen faces. Except for Edward. He was still staring.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you." Jessica spoke through giggles. Great. The vapid brat had to pick today to be aware as well.

Edward's curiosity caught my attention. As he stared it increased. As it increased it transformed. Curiosity to… fascination? Edward was fascinated? By a human? I glanced at Alice. She looked pleased and she looked like she was trying very hard not to think something.

"Edward! Stop!" Rosalie hissed.

Edward returned his gaze to his lunch tray. He felt confused, amused, and… fascinated?


	4. What's Necessary, Really?

It was nine hours ago that we found Edward standing next to the car shaking with mirth. When we asked him what was so funny… he sobered up real quick. Shock flashed through him, washed over his features, and then uncertainty settled in as the dominant emotion. I felt his hesitation as he told us he wasn't sure. Edward climbed in the car then, and without another word, started the engine.

It wasn't as if Edward had never laughed before. He's over a hundred years old. Of course he has laughed. But I still can't get the sound out of my head. It sounded so different from what I was used to hearing… It was… _consuming._ Yes, that was the word I wanted, the sound of his laughter consumed. And the way he felt… The amusement was so _genuine_.

"That's checkmate Jasper. Want to play again?" Alice called my attention back to our game.

I _almost always_ beat Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie at chess. Chess was all about strategy; I was good at strategy. In what felt like another life entirely, my survival once depended on my ability to strategize well. Now strategizing was as natural as a heartbeat on a human. I _always_ lost to Edward and Alice. To much thinking was involved in chess, that's why Edward had the advantage. Alice, well there was no use asking her to shut the visions off and play fairly, because they wouldn't shut off. Not when the visions could only benefit their owner. She didn't look but she could still see.

However, Esme was busy with her blueprints and I could hear Carlisle in his study filling out paperwork. Emmett and Rosalie were… well they were currently pursuing one of their favorite hobbies. I never really understood the concept of playing oneself, so…

"Sure Alice." I answered.

That beautiful toothy grin stretched across her face as she eagerly reset the board.

"You're a glutton for punishment aren't you?" Edward spoke from where he sat at his piano.

He had spent over two hours assembling and reassembling notes, becoming more and more displeased with each reassembly. As inspiration continued elude him his frustration grew. Truth be told though, it wasn't just tonight that inspiration eluded him. Edward hadn't composed anything real in awhile now.

"You're one to talk," I replied.

I don't know what made me say that out loud but I knew immediately that I shouldn't have. But I couldn't stop my thoughts from leaping to the Chief's daughter, and how Edward's throat must flame when he sits next to her… I know how bad my thirst feels on a good day, and this girl's smell was more intense than that of a normal human (to Edward at least). Sitting in a warm little room next to _that_ smell, resisting the most basic need… There was no way Edward had an easy time of it today. I could feel the lie in his emotions as he tried to abate Esme and Carlisle's angst this afternoon

Edward hissed as he heard the avenue my thoughts had taken and the accusation in them. I heard the piano bench tip over as he stood up too quickly. He didn't stop to fix it. He just breezed up to his room and turned on his stereo.

"Was that really necessary?"

I glanced at Alice's frowning face.

"Maybe it was," I added honestly.

* * *

Alice laughed and stuck her tongue out at Emmett. He had tried to surprise her with a snowball; tried and failed. He chuckled and tried to sidestep her return, but she had foreseen this action too, and a second snowball was on its way before his movement was complete. The first snowball went wide while the second hit him square in the forehead. How very human this behavior would seem, if Alice hadn't moved so fast to get the second ball airborne. She probably foresaw that no one would see her do it.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at the two of them and headed to our first class. I stayed behind to watch Alice enjoy herself, her movement slowing down now. Someone must have spotted us. Edward was behind me, shuffling his feet an inch at a time, like an old man trying not to break a hip on the ice. What an odd thing for him to do. He was moving so slowly and yet he felt so… eager.

"Alright, enough," Emmett laughed. "Rose! Wait up!"

Alice loped back to my side and hooked her arm through mine. I started to move with her, but my feet froze as I caught Edward's emotion. Fascination. His feet froze too. I turned around to look at him and Alice slid gracefully over the slick blacktop as I pulled her with me. Edward was looking across the parking lot toward Bella Swan.

In spite of myself, I looked too. Bella was staring at her truck's back tires. I wondered why, so I extended myself, focusing on her emotions, looking for insight. She was feeling love, loved, and overwhelming gratitude. And that's when it all went out the window. Tyler Crowley's out of control van caught my peripheral vision, and the sound of squealing tires ripped through the chill morning air. Everybody in the parking lot turned to look then. Including Bella.

Surprise bubbled in her chest first, immediately quashed by terror. The terror she felt was paralyzing her, the poor thing couldn't even blink as she watched the end coming to claim her. Even if she could move, she would only have been able to do so at a human pace, which would not be fast enough to save her life. I felt compassion for this stranger who had caused so much trouble for my family and who would never know a family of her own.

Horror hit every student in the parking lot as they all turned to watch her die. But it was not their horror that caught my attention. It was Edward's horror. It was just so intense. I panicked too, but for a different reason. When her blood spilled… I'd be lucky if I could resist the blood that I thought was average, never mind his resisting with the way it smelled to him…

We could be exposed.

I cut off my breathing and leapt forward to wrap my arms around him, but he was gone. My arms closed around nothingness. Which was strange because the van hadn't hit her yet, her blood hadn't started to run and contaminate the air, so where was he? I saw him, when I got over my shock, running far too fast across he parking lot. His arms wrapped around the girl and he pulled her into the protection of the open space between her truck and another parked car. The van struck then, blocking both from view.

I watched as the velocity of the van affected the point of impact on the antique Chevy's sturdy frame, watched as it curled toward the empty space where I knew Edward hid with Bella. I watched as the van suddenly shuddered to a stop as it encountered something more immovable than the truck. I watched as the one side of the van lifted a foot upwards as if someone very strong had picked it up, than drop to the ground with enough force to leave the windows broken.

I, in contrast to the students around me, didn't know what emotion to display. I couldn't really believe Edward had really done what I was sure I saw him do. My ears were sharp enough to hear over the screams that broke out, even though I couldn't feel passed the fresh hysteria pulsating through the air.

"Bella?" I heard Edward call. "Are you alright?"

He sounded panicked. He should panic. What had he done?

"I'm fine," Bella answered though her small voice was barely audible.

"Be careful, I think you hit your head pretty hard."

That was what he was worried about? Her head? Was he really this stupid?

"Ow," was her only response. Ow? Was she stupid too?

"That's what I thought." He sounded happy now. Was he the Cullen with the psychological disorder then?

"How in the… How did you get over here so fast?" She asked.

If my heart had been beating her question would have stopped it. So maybe she wasn't stupid. A small voice in the back of my head broke through my emotional numbness to scream, _"What did she see, what did she see, what did she see…"_

"I was standing right next to you, Bella," Edward lied.

But did she believe him? Was she suspicious? Was she compliant? Was she too traumatized to care? I struggled to concentrate, to focus. I could feel Alice beside me, appalled but unsurprised. I took note of the lack of surprise. I'd come back to that later. I could feel Emmett and Rosalie, I hadn't noticed they had returned to us. I could feel Emmett's disbelief and nothing else. He was numb, too. Rosalie was outraged. I didn't blame her.

"I saw you," I heard Bella say. What did I miss? What did she see?

"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." I could feel him then, the hysteria began to subside as word spread that there were survivors, the atmosphere weakening enough to let me through. Edward felt desperate as he told the lie.

"No." Bella felt stubborn, suspicious, and worst of all, she felt certain.

She knew. She knew. We were exposed. Edward broke the rules and got caught. The rage hit me then. I could taste it on my tongue, it clouded my vision with red, and scrolled shamelessly over my face. The rage shut off all thought process, filling every corner of my spacious mind. It was paralyzing.

Chief Swan showed up after the ambulance and I could feel his panic through my rage as he watched his daughter being placed on a stretcher. As the EMTs lifted her in to the ambulance her eyes ranged outward. She spotted us watching her, I was sure of it, and I felt her suspicion grow. Our faces must have been a sight. The paramedics closed the door, cutting off our view, and we watched with intensifying emotions as Edward climbed into the ambulance too.

"We should go," Emmett muttered.

His muttering barely registered in my furious mind.

What had Edward just done?


	5. Options

"Let's go over our options," Carlisle sighed.

This was the second time we convened at the dining room table on account of Edward. This time was different though. Now he sat with us. Now we were discussing how to deal with his stupidity rather than his sensibility.

"We could leave," Esme suggested.

"That's an option," Carlisle agreed.

"A bad option," I disagreed. "If we leave now, we'll be leaving behind more than just rumors this time. She knows we're different. She's witnessed it for herself. If we leave she has no reason to stay silent."

"So what, your suggesting intimidation tactics?" asked Emmett.

"I'm merely suggesting that running is a bad option… Although intimidation tactics is another option."

"I think, under the circumstances, making the girl live in fear would be unhelpful and overly cruel. Over kill." Carlisle interrupted our speculating. He didn't deny it was an option, it was just an option he disapproved of.

Something he said stuck in my head though. The phrase "over kill".

The law had been broken. Edward had exposed us. Blatantly. Granted it could have been worse, the whole of the crowd could have seen us instead of just the one… But there was only one witness… If the Volturi knew they'd silence her themselves without hesitation…

I didn't look at Edward but I knew he was glaring at me from across the table. He was listening to everyone's thoughts, and he knew exactly where mine were leading. I could feel his anger, his hatred, growing in his chest as he listened to my contemplations. I knew the only reason he stayed silent was because I hadn't made any decisions yet.

Over kill, Carlisle had said. Yes, if Bella Swan were killed that would certainly solve our problem. We could do it very easily, our kind never left any DNA. A perk of being impermeable and perfect. Humans disappeared all the time. One unexplained disappearance would not send any fingers pointing at us…

But who would do it if I suggested this thing? Certainly not Carlisle or Esme, and Edward was too close already. Besides if he was the one to do the deed he would torment himself for it for the rest of his existence… I couldn't bear that. Alice? No, I won't cause strife between her and Edward. Rosalie had the control necessary and was indifferent to the suffering of humans. Emmett could do the job with ease if he thought it was necessary and he'd never look back. I could do it too. I had more than enough experience, and would it really be fair to put this on someone else if it was to be my idea?

I could see it now. Bella couldn't see my scars, she thought I was beautiful. It would be easy enough to turn on the charm and lure her away… Or why wait for her to agree? Slip silently in to her room while she slumbered unaware… I could crush her while she slept, never giving her the chance to wake and defend herself… Its not like self defense would do her any good, and waking her would only make her suffer needlessly… I'd take her body away, her father couldn't declare her death suspicious if there was no body to prove a crime had taken place. I'd just dump her in the mountains, let the scavengers--

I didn't finish that thought as a furious snarl ripped from Edward's chest. He knew I had decided.

"No!" Alice shouted.

We both ignored her and got to our feet.

_It's a good way Edward,_ I thought.

"It's not," Edward growled.

I was aware of the confusion and stress in the room. Five sets of eyes watched with anxiety as they watched Edward and I stare each other down. One pair of stunning topaz eyes was not confused. Of course Alice would have seen what I was going to do when I decided to do it. Of course she could also see Edward planning to stop me. As could I.

Here was the thing though. Edward's ability would almost always give him an advantage in a fight. Except for a fight against me. When it came to a real battle, not on a chessboard, strategy was my friend. Strategy had become instinctual and I could fight on instinct… By the time Edward heard a move in my head I would already be making it. We were evenly matched in a fight.

_And you know it too, don't you?_ I silently asked.

"No!" Alice was louder this time but remained ignored.

Edward didn't answer this time; he sank into a crouch.

I shifted my weight in anticipation. I wouldn't kill him, he was my brother and I loved him, of course I wouldn't kill him. I'd just have to injure him enough that he couldn't stop me. Injuries on our kind were almost always reparable. Break him now and fix him later. He'd never forgive me but I could deal with that so long as he was safe. As long as Alice was safe.

"Don't make Alice your excuse," he hissed, leaving his lip curled to expose his teeth.

"Then tell me Edward, what's _your_ excuse? How do you justify what you are doing? Endangering us all for a human you don't know, who'll die eventually anyway?" I retorted harshly, but I did want to hear the answer. Even as my lips curled back too, I knew I _needed_ an answer.

It didn't take long for the others to flip to the page that Edward, Alice and I were already reading. Four gasps and then everyone was speaking at once.

"There must be another way," Esme said with compassion, but could we really afford her compassion now?

"Jasper, we are not murders. Running is a better option than murder," said Carlisle. I could feel his patience and understanding, but also his anxiety.

"It's smart, easily doable, too," Emmett's response took my by surprise. I could feel it in his emotions, he agreed with me.

"If either of you lay a hand on her, I swear to God it'll be the last thing either of you do!" Edward growled. Anger. Desperation. Fear.

"No, Jasper, no you can't!" Alice said with desperation.

Which reminded me…

"You knew this would happen didn't you? You weren't the least bit surprised when Edward intervened, you knew! How could you not say anything?!" I yelled at her.

I never yelled at Alice before now. I was never angry with her before now.

"I most certainly did not!" Alice yelled back. Indignantly. "Edward tell them! Tell them why I wasn't surprised! You know! I let you see it in my head not five minutes ago, and you know its true! You know it!" She was yelling at him now.

Edward said nothing. He wouldn't take his eyes off me long enough to glare at her the way I could tell he wanted to.

"Fine I'll say it! The vision I kept from you the other night was not of the car accident, because Tyler hadn't decided to speed to school then, it was Edward falling in love with Bella!"

Everyone was silent then. Everyone looked to Edward for confirmation but he didn't give it. He just ground his teeth together.I could feel it. His insane need to protect her at all costs and the possessive edge to his emotions when Alice said _her_ name. His anger and hatred toward me when I planned how to kill her. His sudden fascination with her. His fear when Emmett agreed with me. I assumed that fear was because he was outnumbered, but I could see now he feared not for himself…

"I won't pursue the feeling. I'll stay away from her," Edward spoke slowly through his teeth. I could feel his pain in that statement.

The fury was gone, replaced by pity. Could I do it? Take away his Alice? If I ever lost my Alice I would lose me. Destroying Bella might destroy Edward. I couldn't destroy her. I couldn't destroy him.

Edward relaxed and straightened out of his crouch, but only a little. His weight shifted toward Emmett and I guessed that Emmett had not let go of the idea.

"There," Alice said looking at me very pleased. Then anger entered her being as she looked at Edward. "Edward-" She began.

"No!" He yelled at her. Emmett was now forgotten.

The table was separating Alice and Edward but I needed a bigger obstacle between his rage and her petite form. I stepped in front of her and tensed back into my fighting stance.

"You changed it Edward, not me. By saving her today you changed that fact and her path. You can't just stay away from her it will hurt you, besides, she loves you now too!"

"Wait Alice," I interrupted whatever Edward was about to say. "What changed?"

"When I said he would either kill her or he wouldn't… _That_ changed… He will either kill her or _turn_ her."

"I'll do neither!" Edward yelled again. "I'll stay away. She deserves better than this life, she deserves to get married, have a family, a career… I won't sentence her to this!"

Carlisle flinched. I felt his guilt. Four out of seven were his creations. Edward felt it too.

"I didn't mean it like that Carlisle. I never regretted you saving me, but she has other options, options I didn't, and it would be wrong to take them from her," Edward voice was softer now.

Rosalie who had been silent through all of this finally spoke. "I agree… with Edward. Changing her shouldn't be viewed as an option. Our options should be do we let her live, risk exposure, or do we end this before it's to late?I say end it. End her. While there's still time"

"No Rose. I. Won't. Let. You." Edward said each word delibrately, his voice a deadly whisper.

"There's no risk of exposure. Bella will be true to her word to Edward. She loves him to much to betray him." Alice assured us.

"Rose, we are not going to start taking lives to benefit ouselves now. You five will go back to school. Act as normal as possible. Jasper's right, leaving might lessen her incentive to stay silent." His eyes flicked to Edward. "Edward, I would never ask you to stay away from her if you really feel that strongly about her, but please keep in mind that you will not be the only one implicated if this ends badly. Just be careful."

"I'll stay away from her. You say she loves me Alice? She won't continue to much longer. The beautiful thing about humans is that they always change."

Again I felt his pain at the coming separation but now I felt his resolve too. He would do this. I could feel Alice's disapproval at his plan, but she felt certain too. Certain of what? His success or his failure? Esme was happy and upset at the same time. I knew the reason for that. She was afraid Edward would never find his match and now he had… Unfortunately now that he found her he was forcing himself to let her go…


	6. Restless

The following month was strange. Even by our standards. We were abnormally normal, dedicated to keeping our façade as perfect as our faces.

Even with Alice's assurances, Emmett, Rosalie and I were not convinced that the girl could keep her mouth shut. At Emmett's request, Rosalie followed Bella to the ladies' room the day after the accident and hid in a stall to hear what Bella would say to her friends, away from her male admirers. I was shocked at Rosalie, I just couldn't imagine her displaying such un-Rosalie behavior even for Emmett. Edward was pissed when he found out and the expression on his face was such that she didn't dare commit to anymore reconnaissance missions.

I was sure Edward was monitoring the situation himself regardless. Listening to the minds of others as she recounted her tale of near death and Edward's heroic save. If he heard anything troubling in their minds he would have mentioned it. Even so, I kept track of her emotions whenever I was in range, and that wasn't often. She and I shared no classes and we always seemed to be at opposite ends of the campus. I didn't want to go out of my way, it would be too obvious what I was doing and it would be sure to set off Edward's short temper. The only time I could inconspicuously spy was lunch hour and my concentration was hindered by Edward hissing profanities at me as he listened to my thoughts.

For the most part, that week, Bella seemed mostly annoyed when the others asked her questions. When she got to the part about owing her life to Edward, her annoyance faded to a mixture of appreciation and confusion. I was a little surprised that she never embellished the story as most humans would have done. Eventually that week passed and the students lost interest and her emotions changed. Fascination. Frustration. Longing. Disappointment. A strange sense of aloneness.

Bella was not the only person I was keeping an eye on. Edward too had become a priority. He had always had a hot temper, but in the days following the accident the slightest thing would set him off. I felt what he was feeling. He was longing too. There were other emotions as well. Irritation. Jealousy. Determination. Sadness. Fear. Disgust.

It was strange. As long as I've known him, I've never known him to be unhappy, not like this. Edward's emotional state usually seemed to flow smoothly, a mixture of contentment, indulgence, and when occasion warranted it, boredom. His emotions had changed radically, he flickered from negative emotion to negative emotion so quickly I found myself obsessively trying to guess the thought behind each one. He was miserable. He could lie to the others but not to me. He knew I knew he was miserable. I did try to help but I couldn't really understand it.

The love part I understood just fine. Emotions. They're what I do. But loving Bella after having one conversation with the girl made no sense. Even if it made sense how could he have fallen so far and fast into love that he couldn't make himself let her go? I guess she was kind of pretty, she was no Alice, but she did have a funny way of using her big brown eyes to express her emotions. I suppose the way her face lit up with scarlet from time to time would be considered pretty too, but I couldn't appreciate it. All I could think when she did that was how much she looked like dinner… But it would be naïve to think Edward was only interested in her looks. He wasn't shallow that way. What had she said to him, that day, to make _him_ infatuated with _her_?

Eventually I stopped paying attention to Bella, she was flawlessly minding her mouth. I never stopped watching Edward and I wasn't the only one feeling the strain. Carlisle's concern for Edward grew day by day. Esme's worry pretty much exploded out of her the day Edward stopped playing the piano. Alice's disapproval as she watched him alter his future rolled off in waves. Emmett hunted with Rosalie. Rosalie avoided Edward as much as was possible and with good cause. She thought his infatuation was unreasonable. I guessed from the look on Edward's face and Rosalie's snide comments that her thoughts about the girl were not at all pleasant.

Alice and I barely had any alone time anymore. It felt like keeping the peace at home had become a twenty four hour occupation. When Edward got over this I was going to take advantage of it. Screw chess, Edward's newfound martyrdom, and the emotional neediness of my family. I _wanted_ my Alice.

"Mr. Hale?"

"Pssts… He's talking to you, sketch." Rosalie whispered to low for the teacher to hear.

"What question was it?" I whispered back through unmoving lips.

"An easy one for _you…_ What year did the Confederate States secede?"

I nearly laughed. Yes, I knew that one.

"Eighteen sixty one." I answered.

"Very good, now…" He continued on with his lecture.

My last class of the day. American History. My easiest class by far because I _was_ American History.

Rosalie and I met Alice and Emmett by the cafeteria after class and I couldn't help noticing Alice felt particularly smug. I observed the pleased smile and noted her eyes sliding in and out of awareness.

"Okay Alice," I gave her a playful nudge in the ribs. "Spill it."

Before she could respond Rosalie blurted out, "What is that jerk doing? As if she isn't already suspicious enough! Why is he making another spectacle?" Outrage again.

We all followed the direction of her glare to see what Edward had done now to upset her. Instead of waiting in the parking space like a normal person, he had pulled out of his space and was now idling in front of Bella. A line was forming to as he held up traffic.

"He's waiting for Tyler to ask Bella to the dance, which reminds me… Jasper, would you go to the spring dance with me?" Alice comically fluttered her dark eyelashes at me.

I wasn't crazy about the idea of spending more time with the humans but Alice loved the chance to dress up. How could I deny her something she loves?

"You know I'll go anywhere with you," I said softly admiring her answering grin.

We could see Tyler climbing out of his still running car, and walking over to Bella. We were close enough now that if I concentrated hard enough I could feel her. So out of curiosity I concentrated. Frustration. Irritation. I was close enough to feel Edward too. Frustration. Jealousy.

Emmett chuckled. "He really has lost his mind, hasn't he?"

Rosalie growled a low sound no human would hear.

_Relax._ I sent the emotion toward Rosalie. Whatever Edward was up to, two vampires fighting in the school parking lot would be one sight we could not explain away.

When we got to the car Edward was amused. I didn't need my ability to feel that emotion though. We all could feel it. His body shook with laughter, and the laughter sounded the way it had that once before… It sounded consuming. It was contagious too. Emmett had no more idea than the rest of us as to what was going on but he chuckled quietly as he held the door open for Alice and Rosalie.

I sat up front with Edward tasting his emotional state. He was trying to calm himself. Normally I would have sped the process along but I was glad he was laughing again. In back Rosalie muttered a few words with a profanity interlocked in the middle. Edward must have heard more in her thoughts because he got annoyed with surprising swiftness.

"Jasper? I'm taking a hunting trip when we get home, did you want to join me?" Edward asked. "I don't plan on going far, the best we'll find is elk but…"

"Yes. I should hunt." I thought about how I felt this afternoon, staring at the unprotected back of the boy who sat in front of me in American History. The venom had mass-produced in my mouth, making it hard to swallow. I'm just happy I didn't start drooling. Yes, now is the perfect time to hunt.

"I thought as much," replied Edward and for once he didn't sound patronizing.

"Yeah, I know better now." He smirked at me.

_I would hope so,_ I thought in response.

* * *

The buck would be my second kill tonight. He was old, I could see that from the many pointed crown he wore. It was almost a shame to kill him. Almost. I launched myself at him, as he ran uselessly away. I landed on his shoulders, grabbed the antlers and twisted. There was a crack as his neck broke and he went down with a thud.

Edward laughed from behind me. "Nice, Jazz, but is it really necessary to ride your food before you eat it?"

"Necessary?" I asked with a grin.

Edward was in a better mood tonight than he had been since he came back from Alaska. Something intangible had changed, and as I fed I tried to pinpoint what it was exactly. As before I could feel the determination, fear and disgust. No, not disgust… self-loathing. He was disgusted with himself. The longing he felt was still there, but now accompanying it was hope. There was something else though… not quite an emotion but something close enough to register with my ability… Restlessness. Restlessness that seemed to be intensifying with every passing second. The hope and the restlessness were both new, but what was he hoping for and why would it make him restless?

"Jasper? Do you mind heading home by yourself?" Edward interrupted my speculating.

From the question alone I thought he might want some time to be without my thoughts in his head but again something new ran through him. Excitement.

"What are you up to?" I avoided his question with one of my own.

I felt a flicker of irritation mingling with uncertainty and then he said, "Look, there is something I have to do okay? I'll be back in time to drive to school, you won't be late… I promise." Edward's attempt at humor only made me more suspicious, but before I could press the issue, he was running.

When it ran dry, I left the carcass where it lay and ran too. But unlike Edward, I was running home. Home to Alice. Maybe, if there was time she could see what madness Edward was up to now. I leapt the river easily and as I broke through the trees I could see Alice, waiting for me in the doorway, and her beautiful porcelain face alight with a smile meant for me.

"So, what's he up to?" I tried to sound casual.

Alice just winked.


	7. The Secret's Out

I had returned to the house to find that our family had emptied out. Carlisle volunteered to cover a nightshift. Esme and Rosalie went shopping. Only vampires could find somewhere to shop this late at night. Emmett was took his new off-road jeep for another test run. Edward was… well, Alice hadn't told me where he was. I didn't really care that much once I heard the word "alone". I took advantage of it. Alice didn't mind that I had.

Alice's body lay bare next to my own and I couldn't imagine anything more glorious. Every time I looked at her it took my breath away. Not that I needed it to begin with, but… The wonderful thing was she thought I was glorious too. To a vampire on the street, laying eyes on me for the first time, he or she would see me for what I am: A veteran. A killer. Trained and deadly. Not Alice. She saw me the way humans saw me: Beautiful. I was beautiful to her. It made my silent heart sing in my head, and as her fingers absentmindedly traced a couple of overlapping scars on my chest, my skin tingled with joy.

"What's with all the secrecy?" I whispered, tearing my eyes from her and glancing up to see the pale gray of a cloudy dawn chasing away the last of the night.

"I'm trying to give him the privacy he deserves. Jasper, you know I wouldn't keep something from you, not really… I promise you'll know where he's been when he gets home in about ten minutes and forty-two seconds. Actually it will be pretty obvious where he's been. Once he figures things out more… _thoroughly,_ there will be no need for the secrecy." Alice explained.

She knew me so well. This was the first time I'd brought the subject up since… Well, anyways, she understood what I meant about secrecy without having to ask. I tried to digest her explanation. I believed her when she said she wouldn't really keep secrets from me, but I honestly couldn't fathom why Edward would have spent the night away from home or where he had gone to spend it. The others were already back. Where was he?

"We should get ready for school, besides, I want to be downstairs when this new revelation takes center stage." Alice giggled.

I got dressed, I didn't want to disappoint Alice by making her late, but truth be told I wanted to be there too. I could feel curiosity thrumming through the house and knew everyone else would have heard Alice's declaration of Edward's return. They wanted to know what was going on as well. Edward was behaving erratically. Erratic was not a word I would ever have picked to describe Edward.

When Alice and I got downstairs Emmett, who was seated on the couch watching Sports Center, eyed us speculatively. I could feel his anticipation, his mischievousness, and guessed where he was headed. This house had very few secrets and there was no doubt in my mind Emmett had prepared a few quips for this morning, pertaining to Alice's and mine activities. Alice deserved better than that.

Hmm… Keep it simple with disinterest or teach him a lesson with fear? No, I think I'll mix it up a little…

_Grief,_ Emmett.

Emmett's face screwed and wrinkled, his eyes appeared glazed as they searched of the tears they could no longer produce. His eyes focused on me and realization struck as he realized what I was doing. The best defense is a strong offense. He opened his mouth to speak and I hit him with another wave of grief stronger than the last. Much stronger.

Instead of words, a choked sob escaped his throat and was followed by another. The sobs came unbridled now, music to my ears. Well, getting in touch with one's emotional side can't always be pleasant. The sounds of Emmett crying, a sound never before heard in this house, had everyone surrounding Emmett in a heartbeat. Except for Alice who was beaming at me.

"Emmett? Emmett?" Rosalie touched his face, slightly hysterical.

"Emmett? Are you okay?" Esme echoed, slightly afraid.

I released a wave of serenity, letting it wash over everyone but Emmett. I could feel his humiliation now, but he couldn't force himself to stop his sobbing.

"Jas… per. He's…" But Emmett couldn't choke out anymore because his attention, and everyone else's had just been diverted to Edward.

Edward stood there silently for a moment then chuckled. "Nice one Jasper."

I could feel his appreciation. I appreciated that.

I let go of Emmett then as Edward's scent permeated the air. I was closest to Edward so I smelled it first. Shock ran through me. Then as the smell reached the others, I could feel similar shock run through them. After the first wave of shock evaporated, I felt other emotions. Anger. Disbelief. Disappointment. Surprise. Pleasure. Fear. More shock. But I couldn't pay attention to what emotions belonged to whom. I was stuck on Edward's climate.

Happy. Hopeful. Self disgust (but only a very little). Contemplative. Then as he heard our thoughts, our accusations, he had new emotions. Guilt. Humility. Determination. His emotions, though impressive in their intensity, could not distract me from the biggest elephant in the room.

Clinging to Edward, was the sweet, rich scent of human. I knew from his emotions and his eyes that he hadn't killed one. I kind of wish he had. It would have simplified things dramatically. I could only think of one human in this town who Edward might want to spend time with…

"What you done?" I blurted out.

His eyes flicked to me, but switched to Rosalie instead.

"You imbecile!" Rosalie screeched.

His eyes flickered around the room anticipating each new outburst before it occurred.

"How much does she know?" Emmett growled.

"Edward, what did you do?" Carlisle was slightly calmer than the rest which might be why no one took notice of him.

"Edward-" Esme was interrupted by Rosalie.

"You stupid, irresponsible, selfish, piece of--"

"Jazz!" Alice called over Rosalie.

Right, _Calm._

Once everyone had calmed down against their will, Edward spoke, "She knows nothing more than she did before. I didn't talk to her or anything-"

Emmett interrupted with, "Didn't talk to her? You spent the whole night with her! What exactly were the two of you doing?"

"She was sleeping… I was watching her sleep." He explained. I felt his twinge of regret as he added quietly, "She didn't even know I was there."

I relaxed a little. This wasn't as bad as it could be.

"You were watching her sleep? Like a Peeping Tom?" Rosalie spat the words harshly through her clenched teeth.

"No! Of course not-" Edward clamped his teeth together.

I could feel him struggling angrily for an explanation that made sense; panicking when he couldn't find one.

_Relax,_ Edward.

He sighed and looked at me.

"Quiet everyone," Carlisle commanded. His "leader voice" rang out clear enough now. "Edward. Explain."

"I just… I wanted to know she was safe. I wanted to see her face. That's all…" He trailed off, staring down at his feet. I had never seen Edward look so vulnerable. Or feel it.

"Ask her to the dance!" Alice exclaimed.

Apparently she was oblivious to the anxiety everyone else felt.

Before I could panic too much Edward replied, "No."

"Edward, there's no way she'd say no to you!"

"No. I won't ask her to the dance. Besides, its girls' choice anyway."

"Well, there is no way she's going to ask you with the way you've been treating her, and not to state the obvious but Eric, Mike, and Tyler didn't worry about-"

"No dance!" Edward snapped.

"School." Esme said suddenly. "School. You need to get ready, Edward… You are going aren't you?" She felt hopeful too.

"He promised not to make us late," I answered for him.

_I hope you know what you're doing kid. You could mess this up for everyone, including_ her. _You know that, right?_ I thought the words loud and clear for Edward alone.

He glared at me for a moment and then silently flew by us all as he went to change.


	8. Questions

"You know what, I'll catch up," Edward said.

I didn't need to ask what he was up to. I could feel his shiver of excitement and could hear the cause behind it. _Everyone_ could hear the cause. Bella Swan's truck, possibly the noisiest vehicle on the Olympic Peninsula, entering the lot. I sighed but didn't object. No one else did either, at least not verbally. Rosalie's objection was clear from the set of her lips and the way she marched angrily away from us.

"Oh, Edward, since your not having lunch with us, don't forget Mr. Banner is having the class blood type today." Alice reminded had informed us all, twice, about today's biology assignment. On a day like today it was a good idea for the humans if the town vampires steered clear of the science rooms.

"Why wouldn't I have lunch with you?" Edward asked a little bemused.

"Because your going to sit with Bella, c'mon Edward, you know I wouldn't have seen it unless you've already decided." Alice clucked her tongue at Edward then she looped an arm through mine and proceeded to lead me away.

"Are sure this is a good idea?" I whispered to Alice.

I was referring to leaving Edward alone with the blood of his dreams. I was referring to the amount of exposure he was risking. The chance he was taking. An unnecessary chance. I was referring to the human whose life now hung, however unknowingly, in the balance between life and death. Did the rewards really outweigh the risks? Was the creature worth it?

I kind of wondered why Edward didn't hiss or growl or tell me to shove it when he heard my thoughts. Surely we hadn't walked out of range yet. They sort of seemed like the sort of thoughts that would infuriate him, but he stayed silent. Maybe he wanted to know the answer too. Maybe part of him harbored the same doubts that I had.

"There's no harm in this," Alice whispered confidently.

I believed her as I always did, but I couldn't stop myself from worrying. Collisions with the human race were unavoidable no matter your living circumstances. When the species collide… accidents happen. Would Edward soon be starring in an accident all his own?

I got to my first class just before the bell sounded. Rosalie was already there. She barely acknowledged my existence as I took my seat beside her. Apparently she was not quite ready to forgive me for toying with Emmett this morning. Knowing him, he was preparing to challenge me to a wrestling match later this evening. If I accept I should probably let him win. I probably won't let him win. I probably shouldn't accept.

I wondered what Alice was feeling right now. Was she humoring the teachers by paying strict attention to a lesson she's already learned? Was she watching me? Could she see if today would be the day I would have an accident? Or was she watching Edward's accident unfold? Could she be missing me as much as I was missing her? I hoped the answer to that one was yes as much as I hoped it was no. I hoped that answer was yes because it would serve proof that Edward and I weren't the only infatuated vampires in school. As much as I hated to admit it, I had no choice; I was hopelessly infatuated with Alice. I hoped the answer was no because if she was missing me, she would be sad. Alice should never be sad. I should be there to make her happy. That has been my new mission in life for a while now: making my love happy. Alice must be happy or my world is off its axis.

The morning moved in a blur. A blur of human faces, boring lectures, hormone induced emotions, each one blending into the last. By the end of fourth period I was dying to see Alice. I noticed Rosalie had warmed up to me a little bit, but then I was very so subtly helping her with that. Just subtly enough that she wouldn't notice, just subtly enough that if her anger towards me was strong enough, my ability would create little to no effect on her. It had some affect on her, so she must have been ready to forgive me.

I stood in the lunch line with Rosalie, waiting our turn. I kept my eyes on Alice who was smiling at me. The smile was beautiful enough that I wasn't bothered in the least by the sight of Edward sitting alone in the middle of the cafeteria without a prop. I felt Rosalie's irritation flare as she noticed Edward. I absentmindedly calmed her, while studying Alice. Rosalie cleared her throat.

I turned and surveyed the unappetizing spread. I put a slice of pizza and breadsticks on my tray along with a carton of orange juice. I glanced down at the food on the tray I carried. Pizza… children loved pizza. I don't know why, maybe it's the cheese. There's something mildly grotesque about the way it browns and bubbles as it melts across the sauce covered dough. Humans had a morbid fascination with the grotesque. It is the same reason why they can't look away from car accidents on the street.

I paid for Rosalie -- an attempt to cheer her that failed miserably -- and turned for our table. She stomped passed Edward, huffing at him to show her disapproval. As if he really cared about her thoughts on the matter. I strode by him without hesitation or vocal acknowledgement, thinking as I passed, _Be careful._ I didn't infuse the thought with the emotion. His irritation flickered but he let it go.

"Alice," I greeted, taking a seat next to her.

"Jazz… Good day?" She returned.

Before I could answer Emmett chuckled and whispered theatrically, "Well, if it hasn't been a good day, it's about to be an interesting one, that's for sure." He nodded pointedly at Edward.

In spite of ourselves, we all looked. Bella was approaching Edward, a lemonade bottle clutched tightly in her hands. She was to focused on him to notice us, or the rest of the students for that matter, gazing at her. She stood across from him, nervously, uncertain, waiting for something.

"Why don't you sit with me today?" Edward asked giving her a smile.

That seemed to be what she was waiting for, and with a slight sense of trepidation, she sat. For a moment, excitement flashed through Edward. It was quickly replaced by his own trepidation as he waited for her to speak next.

"This is different."

Girl, you have no idea.

"Well…" His words rushed out in a nervous burst, "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

Is that really what he decided?

"You know, I don't have any idea what you mean…"

A tapping sound drew Rosalie's, Emmett's, and my eyes away from the peculiar scene. Alice was tapping her salad fork on the table. She was annoyed.

"Honestly, you three, stop spying."

Well, if Alice commands it…

Rosalie glared up at the ceiling as if it had something to do with the distasteful event unfolding. I got the distinct feeling that nothing could pull Emmett's attention loose. I could feel his amusement, his concentration… No, he wasn't watching, but he was definitely listening.

I stared out the window while the curiosity grew. I struggled with it, trying hard to tune out my brother and -- if Alice's vision proves accurate -- my potential sister. Wow. It is the first time I thought of her that way. Could I be getting a new sister?

Since joining the Cullens it was easier and easier to think of myself belonging to a family as opposed to a coven. We weren't together for convenience, we were together out of love and companionship. We were connected by our desire to live ethically, but we were bonded emotionally as well. Would I someday find myself emotionally bonded to this stranger too? Curiosity won out, and despite Alice's instructions I started to listen.

"Giving up?" Bella was asking.

"Yes, giving up trying to be good." Jeez, what the hell made him say that? "I'm just going to do what I want now, and the let the chips fall where they may." Smooth, Edward, real smooth.

Emmett seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me. I heard him mumble, "Pickup Lines for Dummies…"

The next words slipped out of my mouth in a mumble that matched his. "Maybe we shoulda dropped some pointers…"

Emmett's silent laughter shook the table.

"Stop it!" Alice snapped.

Both Emmett and I grew still at her darkened expression.

Rosalie ground her teeth together and glared at Emmett now. Well, maybe if it wasn't the ceilings fault… Emmett gave Rosalie what I'm sure he thought was an appeasing smile. Rosalie didn't look appeased.

Alice was right however. I shouldn't spy. I was too old to allow myself to be caught in such ridiculousness. Acting like a human… I know better. Edward's business is Edward's business and it shouldn't bother me in the slightest. It was not my business. But then again…

But then again maybe it was my business. Maybe it was the whole family's business. Edward dragged us into this not the other way around. He broke the rules and got caught. Miss Swan could not be oblivious to the similarities between him and us, surely she was capable of connecting the dots. If he could lift a full-sized van with one hand, surely she realized that we must all be able to do the same. If Edward killed her now, after being seen eating lunch with her, there would be questions. Even if they were the wrong questions, even if there was no proof, there would be suspicions. We wouldn't be able to stay here. We would have to leave. Not that we didn't owe him for the times he picked up home without complaint on our accounts, but…

And what if he didn't kill her? If she joined us, that would be our business too, wouldn't it? She'd be family whether we liked it or not. We would be responsible for controlling her newborn madness and teaching her the rules. Not mention what if she didn't want to conform? If she decided to live like others of our kind, what would that mean for us? Carlisle would not force this life on her even if he could. Would we be forced to become nomads to accommodate her? Or would we send Edward and his newborn companion away?

A bigger burst of amusement from Emmett distracted me. I looked over at him to see he was holding his breath. I caught his eye and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"She thinks he's Spiderman," Emmett whispered. His voice broke as he struggled to contain his laughter.

I didn't understand. "What?"

"Edward asked her what her theories were and she all but asked him if he was Spiderman!" His whisper was a little more exuberant now.

I hadn't realized he was still listening to their conversation. Spiderman? That was the best she could come up with? Thank God.

"What if I'm not the superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" Edward was was saying. Why was he saying that? Did he want to get us in trouble?

"I see." She was answering.

Edward followed up with, "Do you?"

I couldn't help myself. I looked over. Just exactly how much did she see? How much did she understand?

"Your dangerous?"

Bella was staring straight into his eyes, but there seemed to be no discomfort from that action. Strange, because humans don't like to look us in the eye. There was no fear, only anxiety -- probably caused by the way the conversation was going -- and fascination. Edward was staring back at her; he was sad. There was something else though, an emotion I knew to well, an emotion that they both shared… Small now, but powerful, and growing infinitesimally by the minute…

"But not bad... No, I don't believe that you're bad."

Those words were full of trust. Trust that shouldn't exist for her, at least not in regards to him.

"That's it!" Alice stood up. "Jasper, Emmett, I think it's time for class! If you two can't leave them alone…"

I followed her without question, but I felt Emmett's defiance. I grabbed his arm as I passed and hauled him along with me. Rosalie followed silently after us. I couldn't help wondering if she'd been listening too.


	9. Assumptions

I heard Rosalie suck in a sharp breath and felt a burst of panic. I cut off my breathing at that; had she noticed something I had missed? But as I glanced quickly around the room, everything looked fine with a slim chance for accident. I looked over at her, but she wasn't looking at me. She was staring out the window.

"Rosalie…?"

"He did it… The jerk actually did it…" She whispered.

I followed her gaze and my mouth dropped open.

There was Edward, and in his arms, a limp Bella Swan.

Edward had snapped. He had killed her. He was taking her body away… at least he was trying to cover his tracks. But when had he done it? If he had killed her in the classroom, he would have had the sense to destroy the witnesses too, right? And if he had killed an entire classroom, there would be no reason to ditch the body, right? So he must have done it outside… In a hallway, or in the rain, either way it didn't matter as long as Rosalie and I were the only witnesses…

Even from this distance, I could see Edward's lips moving, as if he were talking to the corpse. Then the corpse became less of a corpse, became a little less limp, as Bella shook her head at him. So… Edward had captured her? Was he going to kill her away from school? Or was he going to attempt the conversion?

I felt Rosalie's relief at my side, and knew she was still watching too. Relief? Why was that, because Bella wasn't dead or because we hadn't been exposed… yet. I didn't see what there was to be relieved about, he still might do it… But Edward wasn't really headed in the direction of the woods, was he? Edward was moving at a human speed, why would he do that if…?

When he stepped out of my line of sight, I panicked a little myself. Maybe I should do something, it felt like I should do something. I started to rise, but Rosalie grabbed my shoulder.

"No, Jasper, you can't. Time of death and all that." Rosalie whispered to me.

Right. If she was found, the coroner would be able to predict an estimation of when she died. If I left now, if she died now…

This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

School ended as it always did, but Rosalie and I didn't feel inclined to wait for Alice and Emmett today. We walked out to the Volvo where Edward was already waiting. He didn't seem to see us, he didn't seem to see anything, which may have been why he flinched in surprise. He took one look at our sober expressions and burst into laughter.

"There's nothing funny about it, Edward!" Rosalie snapped. "What if we have to leave?"

"Y-You… th-think I… k-k-killed her?" He stuttered out through his laughter.

I relaxed immediately, it would appear that we were wrong, but Rosalie was still angry.

"Who did Edward kill?" Asked Emmett from behind.

"Edward didn't kill anyone, Emmett, he just gave Bella a ride home." Alice explained. "Speaking of which, keys?"

"Keys?" I asked turning to look at her.

"I'm supposed to take Bella's truck home."

A set of keys flew artfully into her outstretched hand.

"Jasper, ride with me," Alice said, already heading toward Bella's truck.

I turned to follow after her when Edward's voice stopped us both.

"Maybe that's not a good idea…"

Both Alice and I turned to look at him. He felt concerned.

"What's not a good idea?" Alice asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Edward hesitated then nodded toward me.

Right. Talk about hitting below the belt. Edward admits to wanting to kill her and yet I'm the bigger threat because I want to take a car ride with my wife? So my control isn't as good as everyone else's, so what? Does he really think I'm going to barge into her house and kill her because her scent has saturated the interior of her truck? My control is questionable, but not that questionable…

Rosalie is right about one thing. Jerk.

"Jasper, I didn't mean--" Edward began, completely unrepentant.

"What exactly did you mean?" Alice snapped at him from behind me.

I was surprised by her anger.

"I just meant--"

"I know what you meant and Jasper isn't going to do anything. Stop singling him out!" She growled at him.

Edward sighed and shook his head, but he let the argument drop. Alice made an indignant little sound in the back of her throat and tugged my hand toward the Chevy.

It wasn't unusual for Alice to stand up for me, but the anger _was_ a little off. Alice and I always understood why the others wanted me supervised, and usually never contested it. From time to time though, they did go overboard. When they did I was never quite sure how to respond. I didn't want to be disrespectful and I am all too aware of how much damage I can cause, but would it kill them to give me a little credit? And worse than that, what if they did give me that credit I asked for and I ended up losing it? Who would I kill if they gave me a little credit at the wrong moment?

At times like these Alice would speak for me, but she was never angry about the issue. Annoyed maybe…

"Just ask me Jasper." Alice turned the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life.

"Where'd all the anger come from?"

"Edward's being stupid," She hissed while putting the truck in drive.

"Well, that is apparent."

The engine squealed in protest as she tried to coax more speed from the vehicle.

"Edward's messing things up, for all of us."

I could feel her disappointment

."How?" I was a little anxious now. This was what Rosalie and I feared: Edward messing up our lives here.

"He shouldn't refuse to change her like this! She loves him and she's going to want it eventually regardless, because she's always going to want him. He's only hurting himself… And she's going to be my best friend Jazz! I've seen it!"

"Your…_best friend?_" I had to admit, I was amazed.

"Yes! Even as a human she'll like me!" Alice was excited now. Happy.

I could see immediately that I had misunderstood. Alice wasn't disappointed about Edward risking our life in Forks. She was disappointed because Edward didn't want to share. She wanted a friend, a real friend, the kind you don't live with. But a _human_ friend?

"I brought it up to Edward in gym class… I swear if we weren't surrounded by humans he would have taken a swing at me right there! And--"

A snarl erupted from my throat at the thought; Edward hurting my Alice? I'll kill him with laughter on my lips if he ever touches her.

"Jasper, calm down, it's a figure of speech. Anyways, it's going to happen whether he likes it or not, the friendship part I mean… I guess I can understand his resistance to making her immortal, but I don't see the point in stopping me from being friends with her." Alice frowned.

I frowned too. I could see a point to not having Alice be friends with a human. Granted, it probably wasn't the same point that Edward saw, but it was a good point nevertheless.

"Don't worry Jasper," Alice grinned at me and added, "She's going to like you too."

Boy, did she ever misinterpret my face. That was the furthest thing from my mind. Like I cared whether or Edward's crush liked me or not. There were other issues to consider, bigger issues, some of which should be discussed…

Alice spoke again, "Jasper, I would recommend waiting until Edward's out of the house to have that particular conversation. He won't take it well… Try to keep it off your mind for awhile."

I felt Alice's sharp burst of annoyance and I glanced over at her.

"This truck sucks!" She blurted out randomly.

I laughed. "I kind of like it. I mean, I wouldn't drive it and it probably doesn't have good gas mileage but all things considered it runs nicely… I wonder who did the work on it…"

She just looked at me like I was crazy. "Please, the thing won't go over fifty five! How can she stand it? The first thing I'm going to do when she and I are friends is take her car shopping. Personally, I think she'd look good in a convertible. Pink."

"Alice, don't you think you should check with her first?"

"Oh, I will, don't worry."

I recognized that tone right away. Oh, sure she would check with Bella. If Bella agreed, she'd be driving herself to school in a pink convertible. If Bella disagreed, she'd still be driving herself to school in a pink convertible.

"You little monster."I laughed.

Alice gave me a completely unabashed smile.

It was easy to laugh about it now. Bella was safe in her house, my family was safe in ours. It was easy to think of this situation as purely hypothetical and therefore laugh at the improbability of it all. But pretty soon we would be back in Edward's company, and pretty soon he would want to be back in Bella's company. What's going to happen when hypothetical realities become actualities?

"This is it," announced Alice.

I chuckled as she leapt from the truck like she couldn't get out fast enough. I got out too and noticed her staring at the house. I felt her yearning.

"You know, its raining pretty hard Jasper, I doubt Bella will have heard us… Maybe we should--"

"No. No Alice, don't even think about it."

"But Jasper," She whined, "what if Bella wants to run an errand, and she's been waiting on us…"

"No," I said firmly.

I sent out a wave of disinterest before she could press the issue more. I had a bad habit of needing to make Alice happy and I knew Alice was smart enough to use that to her advantage. I was already dangerously close to allowing her request. Alice stuck her tongue out at me, picking up on what I was doing as she usually did.

"Come on Alice, I bet I can beat you home," I challenged.

Her eyes slid out of focus in response and I took off running. I knew what she was seeing anyways. She was seeing herself winning. Again. I had a habit of letting her win and she had a habit of letting me let her win. I could hear her light feet racing to catch up with me and I pushed myself faster through the rain. I would be letting her overtake me all too soon anyway.


	10. Interspecies Relations

"Edward, Emmett!" Alice chimed from upstairs.

Edward was sitting at his piano staring listlessly at the keys. He still had not returned to composing, or playing for that matter, but just sat quietly on the bench. He just stared at the black and white keys like they were some kind of cryptogram in need of decoding. I could feel a nervous tension coursing through him tonight.

Emmett was lying on the floor with Rosalie, attempting to build a house of cards with thirteen decks. Each time they perfected their card houses, they would add another deck to the mix. They even had their own card-house-building-ritual. First they would argue about how big the foundation should be. Second they would argue about what shape it should have. Third they would debate whether or not they had enough cards for the complexity of their structure. Then the two would start building, and for all the pre-construction bickering, they would work in silence with surprisingly choreographed movements.

When Alice called from upstairs Edward turned curiously in the direction of her voice. Emmett had boomed back "what" but made the mistake of not turning his head away. His breath knocked over the closest cards, and the rest went down like dominoes.

Alice flitted down the stairs.

"You two don't have to hurry back from hunting, Monday and Tuesday are going to be sunny. No school!"

"Sweet." Emmett said at the same time Edward shouted, "What?"

We all looked at him in surprise. I felt Edward's nervous tension intensify dramatically. Before I could relax him, he was on his feet. He looked around the room at all of our curious faces and, without a backward glance, he stormed out. We all turned our gazes to Alice, for an explanation, who was already looking to the future.

"Oh!" She gasped and a knowing smile lit up her face. "He's just going to check on Bella. Don't worry Emmett, he'll be back before first light."

Emmett snorted. "Do you think Carlisle could prescribe him something?"

Rosalie made a strange sound in the back of her throat, and with a feeling of deepest disgust, she got to her feet. "What kind of thrill can he get from watching her _sleep?_ I'm sure its just riveting. A religious experience, even!" She rolled her eyes and walked carelessly over the fallen cards as she stomped out to the garage. Emmett stared dejectedly after her.

I was suddenly very confused, not something I like to be. My mind seemed to be breaking in half. On one side my thoughts were hopeful. I wanted Edward to be happy, to be in love, and this human seemed to be the key to that desire. On the other side there was nothing but worry. I wanted my family to be safe and this human presented our family with very real problems. Problems that would certainly have to be addressed… soon.

"Jasper…" Alice trailed off in hopelessness, probably realizing that arguing was useless.

It seemed that my family's lives were all revolving around Bella and Edward. Alice wanted to start her friendship. Edward was clearly conflicted about starting his relationship. Esme wanted Edward to pursue his feeling for Bella. Carlisle just wanted to wait for everything to work itself out. Rosalie wanted Bella out of the picture and Edward back to normal. Emmett wanted Rosalie happy, but he didn't want Edward to be unhappy. And me… The soldier in me, who understood the importance of not breaking rules, was battling with the brother in me, who understood the importance of not breaking hearts.

* * *

The brunette sitting in the desk in front of me was a small thing. She had the end of her long ponytail pulled around the left side of her neck. The hair was wiggling like a snake, and a reflection on the window told me that was because she kept winding and unwinding the hair around a finger. She was bored. I didn't blame her.

The skin on the exposed side of her neck looked… soft. Delicate. I knew a luscious flavor was pulsing somewhere beneath it. I wondered if she knew how fragile her skin was… how easily it could be torn. I imagine she's just as foolish as any other human; thinking she's on the top of the food chain. She's not. I know of at least one predator higher up on the ladder. Me.

I felt my body lean forward involuntarily. Venom suddenly began to well in my mouth. I inhaled her sweet burning scent. She was so close…To my surprise my desk jerked backwards with a loud squeal. All eyes were on me now. Just great. Luckily, Rosalie had been paying attention today. She had hooked her foot around a leg of the desk and pulled me a few inches away. Nobody had seen that though, they all assumed I had caused the noisy disturbance. Which _technically,_ was true.

"Is something wrong…" The substitute teacher hesitated, scanning the seating chart, looking for my name.

"Jasper," I told her. "No ma'am, I just need to use the lavatory."

Some of my _peers_ -- if they could really be called that -- snickered. Laugh it up, fresh meat.

"Should I…?" Rosalie whispered as I stood up.

"No, stay." I muttered.

Alice was waiting in the men's room. The worry coursing through her said it all.

"Was I really going to kill her?" I whispered.

"It was close… What happened?" She stepped forward and took me in her arms.

"It was my fault. I was bored… I started daydreaming… She was bored too, it caught my attention… I started daydreaming about what I could do…" I muttered so ashamed.

I almost let Alice down. It had been close enough that she would have seen the murder committed, close enough that she had left class to stop me. She must have seen my diversion. She must have seen my next destination. She saw me headed to the bathroom and decided to meet me here.

"I shouldn't be here," I whispered, "The risk is too great."

"That's nonsense Jasper, everyone has a bad day now and then…" Alice reached up and took my face in her hands. She tilted my face downward, stretched up on her toes, and her lips touched mine. For few seconds my shameful weakness disappeared from my mind. I'm sure that was her plan all along and it worked. I pulled her body close to mine so I could feel her every line against me. Once again I found myself imagining what I could do…

She laughed and pulled away, "Jasper, we'd make to much noise!"

"I can be quiet if you can," I said smiling at her.

"Those are not the noises I mean, and you know it. Besides, what if we got caught?" She lifted an eyebrow at me. "I've never had a detention before and I'm not ruining my record now!"

I sighed. "Fine… I suppose I should get… back."

"No worries," She said and pointed to a speaker overhead just as the bell went off. "Rosalie will grab your things and meet you at your next class."

The next class went smoother than my last. I focused on my notebook writing down everything the teacher said exactly as he said it. I didn't need to take notes, perfect recall, but I wanted to make sure my attention was being spent on a healthier outlet. Rosalie was extra alert now, I had slipped and she certainly wasn't going to give me a chance to do it again.

We were seated in the cafeteria when Rosalie, who glanced toward the lunch line and quickly away, felt irritated again. I was getting tired of all her irritation and anger. I could take a wild guess at where it came from but I wasn't positive of the why. So I asked.

"Why are you taking this so personally Rose?" I asked leaning forward.

"Why am I taking what personally?" She snapped.

"You know what," I answered inclining my head slightly in the direction of Bella.

Rosalie growled quietly before leaning forward and answering, "Its not right. Edward's endangering us all, and for what? A human? What's so special about her? The girl can't even stand up without falling over!"

I wasn't entirely sure that Rosalie had answered the question I asked, but her emotions sure did. _"It's not right."_ Irritation. _"Edward's endangering us all, and for what?"_ Anger. _"A human? What's so special about her?"_ Jealousy. _"The girl can't even stand up without falling over!"_ More jealousy.

Alice leaned forward to join our conversation. "Rosalie, try to understand, please. Its been decades that Edward has been alone --"

"Well he should find someone else!" She interrupted. "Like starting with someone his own species!"

Alice sighed and shook her head with frustration. Rosalie ground her teeth furiously.

_Calm._

Alice sighed again and returned to looking out the window. Rosalie shook her head and leaned back in her chair, picking at her perfectly manicured nails.


	11. End of Discussion

The weekend was relatively quiet with Edward and Emmett absent. The quiet ended when Emmett came home Sunday night. Alone. The ironic thing was, was that thanks to Rosalie, no one noticed Emmett was alone. At first.

"Finally," Rosalie said seeing Emmett walk through the door.

She welcomed him home with a tight embrace and a passionate kiss, but our eyes didn't start rolling until Emmett's hand slipped rather indiscreetly to grip her rear end.

"Missed you too babe," Emmett said with his lips pressed against her ear.

I cleared my throat to remind them they weren't alone in the room. Emmett looked up at me and winked.

"Catch a grizzly?" Alice asked like she didn't already know the answer.

"Yup. He was big too, had fight in him," Emmett answered with a grin.

That's when Esme asked the obvious question, the question that had been overlooked by everyone else. "Where's Edward?"

Emmett just laughed and said, "Take a wild guess."

Rosalie pulled away from Emmett like he'd stung her.

So what? Was Edward planning on never spending a night at home again? Or would he just move in with her and neglect to tell her? This was getting ridiculous.

When Edward showed up Monday morning his emotions were much the same as the first time he spent the night with Bella. A little self loathing. A lot of hope. Those emotions soon disappeared however, and as the sun rose higher in to the sky he grew more and more agitated. I couldn't take it after awhile. I finally sent a mixture of peace and lethargy through him as powerfully as I could. If he had been human he would have fallen asleep but as it was I did knock him off his feet.

The second the sun went down, he left. What was he going to do? Wait outside her house until she went to sleep? Then I knew it. Yes, that was exactly what he was going to do. Emmett was right. Crazy.

The craziness became a bigger issue Tuesday afternoon. Alice and I had gone for a run, leaving Edward staring at his piano again. When we got home he was gone.

"He's in Port Angeles." Alice answered before I could ask.

"Port Angeles!" I glanced at the sun which was still shining brightly.

"Don't worry Jasper," She was saying.

I didn't really hear her. I was already in motion. I was up the stairs in a flash and at Carlisle study in another. Before I could knock he invited me in. Alice came in behind me at a slower pace, but I ignored her. The first time since I had met Alice, I actually ignored her.

"Are you hearing this?" I asked Carlisle loudly.

His eyes flickered to Alice's pouting face and back to me. "I heard… But what would you have me do Jasper?"

The possibilities flicked through my head in a millisecond. "I don't care at this point. Tell him to leave her. Tell him to change her. But this can't go on Carlisle, she is a risk. He has become one too."

"Tell him to leave her? Jasper, could you leave Alice if I asked you too?"

I flinched at that thought. The pain I would feel separated from Alice…

"It's not the same thing. Alice is a vampire and we are not risking exposure. I won't accidentally kill Alice. Alice won't accidentally inform the human world of the vampire world."

"Jasper, the situation is not the same, but I think we both know the love is."

"Then have her join us," I said without missing a beat.

"I can't do that. Edward is right, she has other options. I won't have this life forced on her."

"If Alice is right it won't matter, she won't want the other options."

"Alice has been wrong before."

"Carlisle!" I growled. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Carlisle, just listen. You know my history and you were not there. The Volturi came and wiped out every disobedient coven, every rogue newborn, every vampire with a dangerous vendetta, every human who saw something they weren't supposed too see… They did it with ease in a matter of weeks. What do you think they will do to us when they hear Edward found a mate in a human?"

"Are you planning on turning us in Jasper?" Alice spoke up suddenly.

I flinched again. Why didn't she just bite me? It would have hurt less. "No, Alice, of course not," I answered softly trying not to let the hurt show. Did she really believe I could do something like that?

"But if they did find out, they would kill Bella. Do you think Edward would stand by and watch that happen? As you already pointed out, he loves her. He would fight for her. He would die for her. I don't think there is anyone in this family who would let any member go up against the guard alone. We would with fight with him. We would die with them."

I suddenly felt sick at the thought of losing Alice to the Volturi justice. Sicker still when I envisioned my family at the mercy of merciless soldiers. It was like a twisted replay of my life, twisted because this time I would care about my comrades. It would cause me pain to watch them fall.

Carlisle sighed and shook his head. Like he could shake away the worry he felt, the anxiety. He closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing his temples as he tried to collect his thoughts. I waited silently for a opened his eyes and folded his hands on his desk.

"Jasper," he hesitated, "Trust me, I have spent time with the Volturi and I know the laws and their capabilities as well as you do. I know your fears because they are in my mind too."

"But?" I prompted. There was a "but" coming. I could feel it.

"But we cannot allow fears to force us in to rash decisions. Could you live with Edward's pain if we asked him to leave her?"

When I didn't answer, mostly because I had no answer, he continued, "Could you live with _her_ pain should we force this life on her with out her consent and should she find it not to her liking?"

Again I had no answer.

"This must be left to work itself out. We must support Edward because it is necessary. We must keep her our secret too because it is also necessary."

"Even if the cost of toleration is our very lives?" I asked.

He just stared at me with his knowing, gentle eyes. The anxiety he felt never dissipated but the patience reappeared. Carlisle's patience was seemingly endless. A wonderful quality except for the fact that it might get us all killed.

* * *

I sat at the dining room table with Alice watching her work. Her hands were busy making arrangements out of pale, water colored roses and baby's breath. I was glad she didn't seem to be holding a grudge against me for my behavior this afternoon. It hurt to have Alice angry with me.

"Jasper, could you go get the vases?" Alice asked.

I didn't argue. I was too happy that she was happy.

I started with the vases on the third floor. Alice loved keeping flowers in the house so every room had at least one vase. I managed to balance them in my arms, and walked a little slower down the stairs to ensure they wouldn't fall.

I was almost to the dining room when the front door opened. I got hit with an emotion so powerful it was shocking. I stopped too fast and the vases tumbled down. I could hear the air whistling as they fell, but I didn't come to my senses until the first one struck the floor and smashed. My reflexes, dulled by my shock, had me reaching out to grab the others. I only managed to get my hands around one, it was too late for the others, but my grip was too tight. The crystal shattered in my hands.

I spun about to look at Edward. My jaw dropped to the floor. There was an overwhelming sense of peace coming off of him. Peace so powerful it consumed his being and mine. His face looked more serene than it had in months. It was like some great burden had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders.

He just stared back at me. I looked away.

"I'll go… get… the dustpan…" I muttered as he crossed the floor to his piano.

Alice looked unsurprised to see me empty handed. In fact, the dustpan was already on the table waiting for me, as she cut strips of lilac colored ribbon. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard it.

What I heard was a collection of notes floating through the house. They were sweet, unfamiliar and unfinished, but coherent. Edward was composing again.

Alice didn't even look up from her ribbons when she spoke next.

"Anymore questions?"


	12. Betrayals and Bets

Last night, after I had collected the surviving vases from the second and first floor for Alice, I couldn't resist. I slipped silently back into the front room where Edward sat playing his piano. I listened to him play his new composition over and over, slowly connecting the notes where they were fragmented and incomplete, smoothing out the bridge, searching for a suitable ending… The new song was soft and sweet, but I could have heard it from anywhere in the house, I could have heard it from outside…

I stayed because of Edward. For awhile he was at peace, such an intense level of peace, it was a wonderful feeling. I let his feeling wash through me, reveling in it. I couldn't bring myself to ask him where his peace came from. I was too greedy to risk losing the feeling. When Alice finally finished with her decorations, she came to sit beside me. I could feel her joy. That was pleasant too. I pulled her closer.

"It's fine Edward, we'll manage." Alice said randomly.

He glanced up from his hands to smile sheepishly at her. The music was changing, I could tell it was almost complete. It flowed much smoother now, his hands moved much surer. Still, I didn't want to ask Alice what she and Edward were discussing. Don't rock the boat Jasper.

By ten o'clock the song was finished, but he continued to play it. Over and over. The only one who seemed to mind was Rosalie, but the other emotions in the room were too strong for her negativity to have much effect. Edward's peace. Alice's joy. Carlisle's relief. Esme's delight. Emmett's amusement mixed with a strange awe. It was a good climate.

By eleven o'clock I became aware that Edward's emotion was shifting ever so slightly, little by little. As he played I felt an hint of anxiety, that grew a little bit more with each repetition of the song. I leaned forward thinking about removing it, when his fingers missed a note. He stopped immediately after. He seemed a little surprised to notice the whole family watching curiously.

He got to his feet and gave a second glance around at us. He shrugged and left. No one asked Alice where he was going. It was pretty obvious at this point in the story where he was going.

That was last night.

Now Edward was nervous as we walked out to the garage.

"Rose, I grabbed your keys for you!" Alice called ahead to where Rosalie was standing by the Volvo.

She lifted an eyebrow, confused.

"You didn't tell her?" Edward asked curiously.

Rosalie squinted suspiciously at Alice now.

Alice shrugged guiltily. "No, I wanted to delay her temper tantrum."

"And why would I have a temper tantrum?" Rosalie asked slowly.

"Because we are taking your car --" as Alice said that Rosalie had a flash of excitement (she loved her car) then suspicion settled in as she realized she hadn't heard the why yet. "-- and Edward is driving with Bella." Well that explained Alice and Edward's one sided conversation last night.

I winced under Rosalie's anger.

_"What?!"_ She screeched.

Dogs in China could hear her.

"Have you _completely_ lost your mind?! What are you --"

"Shut up Rose," I interjected quietly, surprising myself, and sending a heaping pile of happiness her way.

She looked at me like I had just betrayed her, maybe I had, but she couldn't feel betrayed anymore than she could feel angry. I made her happy.

Emmett threw a comforting arm around her and towed her over to her BMW. He held the driver side door open for her. Rosalie's eyes flashed around from face to face before she got in with a strange sort of huff.

"Edward?" Alice called his name regretfully.

He glanced at her and frowned. He was aggravated now. Aggravated and disappointed. He nodded to her and climbed in to his car. The wheels of the Volvo shrieked as he peeled out of the garage.

"What was that about?" I asked Alice as I slid in next to her.

"Edward had planned on going to Seattle with Bella on Saturday, but its going to be too sunny. He'll have to cancel."

* * *

I sat down at the lunch table avoiding eye contact with Rosalie. She was pissed. Right now she was mostly P.O-ed at me. She wasn't exactly thrilled that I was suddenly pro-Bella. Nor was it a comfort to her that I used my ability against her to give Edward peace of mind. Rosalie also wasn't pleased that I had forced her to spend the day pleased. That last one did have its practical uses though because I sure as hell didn't want to explain why my twin sister threw me through a concrete wall, nor how I survived the incident.

"He's buying them both lunch," Emmett reported.

Before Alice could say it, I did. "Stop spying."

In my peripheral vision, Emmett's jaw dropped a little in disbelief. Alice beamed at me. I felt a little guilty when she did that because I didn't see the situation quite the same way as her. She was happy about this because the more time Edward spent with Bella the more likely she'd get to live her vision of having a best friend. She was happy about this because up until now the closest thing to a best friend had been Edward and she, like the rest of us, had watched him drift through life without desire or complaint and she, like the rest of us, had secretly worried. She didn't have to worry anymore because he was no longer adrift.

For me, Bella still posed a threat but now I was willing to risk the danger. Last night when Edward had come home, every fiber of his being absorbed with peace… That was a good feeling. Somehow she had caused that. It was impressive that she could cause that, impressive that he could feel that… Apparently I like being impressed. And maybe, just maybe, aside from my greed, I was a little relieved too. Alice was right. Edward was no longer adrift.

"Jasper, Jasper, look!" Emmett said kicking me under that table.

I glared at him but curiosity won out and I stole a quick peek. Edward was _eating_ pizza. Pizza, again with the pizza. But knowing Emmett I could guess why he found the action so amusing. It was a little funny…

"Jasper, wanna make a bet?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"Guys, don't, "Alice said disapproval rolling off her.

"On?" I inquired although that was just a show. I could guess on what.

"On how long before that pizza sees the light of day again," He replied.

Yup, I guessed right.

"The stakes?" I asked truly curious this time.

"Ridiculous," Rosalie muttered with disdain.

"I could use a bigger flat screen for my room…"

"Ha! That's hardly worth it, you don't need to win a bet to get that." I scoffed.

"Okay, Doctor Phil, what do you suggest?"

I didn't answer right away, I wanted to make it good. What couldn't I get myself? The idea slipped into my head slowly, but the more I thought about it, the more it evolved…

"What are you grinning about?" Emmett demanded.

Alice giggled, no doubt seeing my half of the bet.

"If I win, I want a picture…" I hedged.

"Of?"

"You."

"Me?"

Rosalie looked up now, interested despite herself.

"Yes, you. More specifically, I want a picture of you in a _dress._" I grinned wickedly at the idea and decided to be a bit more creative. "Pink. Something with a bit of sparkle too. Low cut. And high heels to match."

He laughed. "No frickin' way."

"Well, if your scared you'll lose…"

There was nothing Emmett would hate more than someone thinking he was afraid of something.

He didn't disappoint.

"Fine," he agreed, then he felt a sudden tremor of glee. "However, if I win --" Alice seeing his half of the bet laughed again, "-- I want a picture of _you._ In one of Alice's bikinis!"

I froze. I admit the thought had me horrified. The bikinis Alice bought were designer made, and not made to cover very much. Alice was a lot smaller than me…

"Well, if your afraid…" Emmett grinned. From his smugness I could tell he was sure I would refuse.

"I'm not afraid. I was just thinking the loser should have to model his apparel for the family before the picture is taken. Just so the humiliation is clear on your face…"

"Fine!" He agreed. His fear mirrored my own. But he was committed. I comforted myself with the image of how Emmett would look in a low cut, sparkly, pink dress with matching high heels.

"Alright gentlemen," Rosalie intervened. "The stakes are thus: Emmett, you lose and you have to wear a pink dress, low cut and glittery, shoes to match. Jasper, you lose and you have to take a bikini for a test drive. Whoever loses agrees to walk the runway and be photographed. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" Emmett and I said unanimously.

"Emmett? Make your bid… How long till Edward tosses his cookies?"

"Hmm…" Emmett thought for a minute then answered, "Edward's tough. He'll at least make it to the end of school… So I say… puking in the parking lot."

"Are you sure?" Rosalie asked.

"Positive." Emmett responded.

"Jasper?" Rosalie looked at me.

I thought about it. Could Edward make it home? Maybe, maybe not… Then it hit me. The factor Emmett had clearly overlooked. Bella. Edward wouldn't want to risk her being witness to that… Maybe he could keep his stomach in check long enough to make it to the parking lot, maybe he could even make it home, but Edward had to realize the risk that Bella might be there when the food decided to evacuate without his permission.

"Before the end of school."

"Are you sure?" Rosalie asked.

"Absolutely." I answered.

Rosalie said, "Alice?"

But Alice didn't answer, her eyes were already looking for the outcome.

She snickered. "Edward skips last period to upchuck and spy on Bella. Sorry Emmett." Alice didn't feel sorry.

Emmett swore.

Alice was hit with amusement and she laughed loudly.

"What?" I asked thrilled that victory was just an hour away.

"I just caught a glimpse of Emmett in that dress!" She laughed again her eyes coming back to the present.

* * *

**A/N:**

_So the inspiration for this chapter came from Eclipse when Bella wondered what sort of things the boys bet on... And before you ask, yes I do have pictures of the dress and shoes Emmett will debut and will post the links on my profile after the next chapter. Trust me, the outfit doesnt disapoint._


	13. Messed Up Things

I assumed the rest of lunch would be boring. I kept flicking between worry caused by the upcoming school dance, excitement at the thought of a sunny day and how magnificent Alice was sure to look in the sun, and anticipation so strong it was nearly painful… I just couldn't wait to collect my winnings. I was wrong though… the rest of lunch was not boring.

At first I didn't pay to much attention to Alice searching the future. At first. Then I felt an unexpected blast of anxiety ripple through her. She straightened in her chair and became still as stone. She made a sound through her teeth but it wasn't a hiss… more like a sharp intake of breath.

Her eyes snapped back in to focus. "Edward, I don't think that's a good idea, please change your mind."

Rosalie, Emmett and I started in surprise. We looked at Alice hoping for some explanation. She gave none. She just looked across to Edward, who must have heard her, but he showed no sign of acknowledgement. He just went on talking to _her._ Correction, now she was the one talking.

"With Charlie, less is always more. Where are we going, anyway?" She was asking curiously.

"The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye… and you can stay with me, if you'd like too." He answered nervously.

"And you'll show me what you meant, about the sun?" She was excited now.

That question revealed to much for her own good.

"Alice? She knows?" It wasn't really a question at this point although I voiced it as one.

At the same time, I felt anger and fear run through Rosalie. I could tell by the tone of her voice when she spoke her next words that she was fighting the urge to scream them.

"You insufferable, irresponsible…" She stuttered incoherently for a moment seeming unable to find a suitable noun and continued in the same tone, "What. Have. You. Done?"

Emmett was too stunned for words so he chuckled. There was no humor in his laugh now.

We all turned to Alice when she spoke to Edward again. "Edward, what if something goes wrong? What if you don't bring her back? Edward please, I love her too and I can't see the outcome… Don't do this…" Her voice was pained.

The second she was done talking we all turned back to look for Edward's response. Except for Alice. She was staring worriedly at Bella.

"I know," He was saying, "You should tell Charlie though."

"Why in the world would I do that?" Bella asked. Surprised. Fascinated. Curious.

"To give me some small incentive to bring you back!" Edward blurted out. Angry. Scared. Fascinated.

It was something he probably wouldn't have said if it weren't for Alice. Of course, maybe he would have said it regardless, what did I know? I thought he wouldn't be stupid enough to tell her this… No. That's not true. I knew she was going to find out, how could she not with all of what Alice had predicted. I guess what I really thought wouldn't happen was that he would be foolish enough to demonstrate… So many things could go wrong, couldn't he see that?

Bella was responding. Nervously. "I think I'll take my chances." Then she changed the subject. "Let's talk about something else."

"What do you want to talk about?" He was annoyed now.

Bella didn't answer at first and I felt her caution flare. She glanced around the room, maybe in response to the many eyes on her, and she didn't miss us. Us glaring at Edward. Alice staring at her. She stared in surprise for a second longer than she probably meant too. She came to her senses and looked away quickly.

"Stop spying." Alice mumble not quite as forcefully as usual.

Fat chance of that.

We looked away but I was quite sure that everyone was still listening in. Bella asked about hunting. Edward was reluctantly answering her questions. What I couldn't figure out was if she knew about us, why Edward found it necessary to eat. I got confirmation of my suspicions when Edward brought up Emmett's hunting style. From the corner of my eye I saw Bella eyeing Emmett apprehensively. Emmett had to have been listening, he had to have seen her stare too, that was my only explanation for why he had chosen this exact second to flex his muscles. A grin flitted temporarily across his face.

Rosalie stood up, grunted, "Insane," and marched off.

Emmett stood up to chase after her.

"Rose'll be a pleasure," I grumbled to no one in particular.

* * *

Rosalie and I waited for Alice and Emmett after school as usual. Emmett got to us first but still no Alice. I was starting to get worried and considered going looking for her when she arrived. She claimed that she had to ask her teacher a question in regard to an assignment… Edward's Volvo was gone by the time we got to the parking lot so I had a hunch that the reasons for Alice's delay may have been more than just academic.

Of course her delay couldn't chase away the students standing around Rosalie car. I couldn't help thinking, _Run boys, run! Save yourselves!_ Any other day Rosalie would love this extra attention. Not today. I doubted anything, except for me, would cheer her now.

_Calm,_ Rosalie.

"Get away from my car," Rosalie said to them in a much softer tone than she wanted too.

"How fast does it go?" Some brave rosy faced freshman asked,

The other boys stared at the four of us with awe.

"Fast," Rosalie said feeling a little smug. That was more like it.

When we got home I was prepared to interfere with the wrath of Rosalie but there was no need. Edward's car was already tucked safely in the garage. Edward was no where to be found. In fact we didn't see him until the next day at school. We left in Rose's car before he came home to get his. It was hard to tell whether he was so attached to Bella he could no longer leave her side, or if he was using her as an excuse to avoid us.

Thursday night Edward came home soaked through with frustration.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

It wasn't like him to be upset after spending the day with Bella.

"Ephraim's progeny," He snapped.

"Huh?"

"Ephraim Black's grandson and great grandson stopped by Bella's house for a little visit this evening."

Ephraim Black. I knew that name. I never met the man myself, but Carlisle had told me the stories to prepare me for Forks. Last time the Cullens were in the area so were werewolves and they hadn't been at all happy to meet their new neighbors. But Carlisle managed to calm them, reassure them, and a treaty was created to protect their families and lands from us.

"So what? That was years ago Edward, they don't know anything…"

"Oh, they know alright. That Billy, the grandson recognized me right away. Jacob hadn't a clue…" His face was all scrunched up.

I knew exactly how to cheer him up though."Edward, Emmett will be making good on his bet shortly…"

That distracted him. "Your kidding! Your actually going hold him to it?!"

"Damn straight!"

Alice helped me pick out a dress last night. It was off the rack and beyond perfect. Bright pink and strapless, with glitter trim around the top, and the skirt cut off above the knees. What made it most perfect however was not the glitter trim or the color, but the design. The skirt was designed to look like roses. Big, gaudy, poofy roses.

I picked the shoes out all on my own though. Three inch sandal high heels. Pink ribbon X-ed across the toes, and a pink strap to embrace his ankles. I hadn't seen them on him yet.

Edward laughed seeing the outfit in my head. "When is this happening?"

"Rosalie is dressing him as we speak. Esme and Carlisle don't know yet, I just told Esme to be in the sitting room by the time Carlisle gets home. I thought it would be more fun to surprise them."

Edward laughed again.

An hour later I was sitting on the couch in between Esme and Alice. Alice was bouncing up and down with excitement, the camera already clutched tightly in her hands. Edward was standing against the wall, snickering. Esme was confused and suspicious. She knew something was up, but she couldn't get us to tell her what. Alice had agreed surprise would be best.

I listened to Carlisle's Mercedes as he drove it into the garage. Now his footsteps up to the door. The door opening and closing and --

"What's going on?" Carlisle asked with surprise.

"Emmett lost a bet!" Alice squeaked. "Come, get a good seat!"

Carlisle stood next to Edward, shooting him a questioning look, but Edward just clamped his lips together and shook his head.

"Time to pay up, Emmett!" I yelled.

"Screw you!" He hollered back.

"Emmett! Don't talk to Jasper like that!" Esme chastised.

"Oh he can say whatever he wants Esme. I probably deserve it," I laughed and she frowned at me.

"Get going!" Rosalie was hissing. "You're the idiot who agreed to this!"

Emmett and Rosalie could be heard and felt coming down the stair. Rosalie's disgust. Emmett's mortification.

Alice pitched forward in her seat, camera at the ready.

There was silence as Emmett came into view. Nobody could speak at first there was too much shock. Every one pretty much burst into amusement and laughter at the same time. Just under the noise of the amusement the camera was clicking away.

"Do a spin!" Alice called out.

Emmett growled at her.

"That shade of pink if fabulous with your curls!" I spoke through my laughter.

Emmett's weight shifted as he considered attacking me.

"Jasper! I think I'm in love with you!" Edward said clapping me on the shoulder.

"I think I'm in love with myself too!"

"Jasper…" Esme's disapproval was warring with her amusement.

"What exactly were you betting on?" Carlisle choked on his question.

I couldn't answer I was doubled over with laughter.

"Edward ate at lunch. They were betting on when he would regurgitate." Alice answered.

Either she had grown tired of taking pictures or she was out of space on her memory card.

"Alright, enough!" Emmett turned too fast and a heel snapped under his weight, but he fled up the stairs. The sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the house. Rosalie sighed and allowed herself a giggle as we listened to the sounds of the dress being ripped to shreds.

* * *

**A/N:**

_So as promised the links to Emmett's god awful dress and shoes is located on my profile page._

_P.S. If you have, by some gigantic coincidence, worn this dress I refuse to apologize for saying it is god awful... It is, and you should be ashamed for wearing it... oh yea, i said it._

_I dont even care if you flame me for that... Please no flames._


	14. What's the Opposite of Forgiveness?

Chapter 14

I stood behind Alice as she uploaded the photos on to a computer and tried not to laugh as I watched her blow several up for a better view. All were priceless, Emmett's face captured in all its various degrees of anger and humiliation. Of course I was going to pay for this, I knew that before I even picked out the dress. But looking at Emmett all pretty in pink… It was _so_ worth it!

We haven't seen Emmett since his little presentation. Probably planning his revenge… I wasn't too worried though, I was sure Alice would tell me before hand… Wouldn't she?

"Of course she will," Edward said from behind me, over sound of his new composition.

I craned my head around to look at him. He grinned at me. I wonder if he would tell me what Emmett was planning to do to me.

"Not a chance. You deserve it." Edward answered my thought. "Although, Emmett the Rose Garden Princess was--" He broke off at the sound of a loud crash up in Emmett and Rosalie's room.

"What'd he break now?"

"He punched Rose's full length mirror… What do you think Jasper? Seven hundred years bad luck?"

I chuckled and turned back to Alice who was now humming along with Edward's piano.

"Alice?" Edward asked tentatively as he came to the end of his song.

"Yes?" Alice swiveled the chair around to face Edward.

"If I am going to spend Saturday alone with Bella, I'd like to be prepared… Would you take a hunting trip with me?"

Alice frowned a little.

"No. I won't cancel on her." He responded to the worry in her head.

"Fine. Would you like to go now?" She asked.

"No, tomorrow after lunch. I want to see Bella again and I want to miss Biology class." He shivered. "I don't know if I can take much more of that…"

"Of what?" I asked curiously, but he just shook his head at me.

Alice swiveled back around to the computer. Edward stood up from his piano, but this time I barely bothered to acknowledged it. It felt routine now, expected. What wasn't expected was the burst of anger that radiated out of Edward, or the crack as the doorknob snapped off in his hand.

"No!" Edward shouted spinning about, fists clenched.

No what?

Alice turned around again. "Edward," She began.

"No!" He yelled again, leaning forward.

_Calm,_ Edward.

"Edward, I'm not saying force her. She's a smart girl. Explain the mechanics of it, the risks involved, the consequences, and let her make the decision. She might surprise you--"

"That's what I'm afraid of," He said through his teeth.

Oh. I guess what I missed isn't such a mystery after all.

"So what? You where the pants in the relationship?" Alice snorted. "Why doesn't Bella get a say? It's her life isn't it?"

"I'm doing enough damage to her life by existing, I won't worsen it by putting this in her head."

"How do you know she hasn't already got it in her head?"

"Bella is human Alice. She deserves to stay that way."

"Why do you get to decide what she deserves?"

"Alice! I. Forbid. You. To. Tell. Her. _Anything._ Am I clear?"

Alice was silent for a long time as they glowered at each other. Finally she sighed and muttered, "Fine."

Edward turned away and jerked the broken door open and dragged it shut behind him. I couldn't help but think Alice had a point. Just because now I had accepted the risks that Edward and Bella were presenting, it didn't mean I had forgotten them entirely. If Bella knew what Edward was and she could still sit next to him calmly she is either very in love or very brave. If she is that in love with Edward then she might leap at the chance to spend forever with him. That would solve everything. If it was bravery, then Edward's explanation on vampire conversions shouldn't bother her peace of mind at all. Our problems will remain but at least she will know she has another option if she ever wants it.

Edward didn't show up the next morning. Avoiding us again. Suddenly I wasn't sure I wanted him to go hunting with Alice. Things are getting stressed between the two of them and he gets angry so easily as of late… What if she brings up the forbidden subject again? Alice is pushy, what if she pushes him too far?

"What are you doing?" Alice's confusion broke my train of thought.

"Huh?" I asked.

Then I realized how my body was positioned. We were sitting in the back seat of the BMW and Alice had just been about to get out. Without even realizing what I was doing I had stopped her exit. An arm had moved around her to hold her in place, while my weight had shifted to block her as if from impending attack.

Now her eyes were unfocused, no doubt searching for the danger that had upset me. There was no danger… not now. My instinct to protect Alice was so strong it had become an unconscious reflex. The very thought that she might be hurt was enough to put me on the alert. If I could blush, I would. Luckily she still didn't know I had scared myself. I immediately released her.

_Happy,_ Alice.

She grinned at me and laughed and slid out of the car.

"Your shameless!" She laughed.

* * *

Lunch was oddly silent. Alice was looking for the future out of habit more than anything else. Rosalie was listening in on the present and doing so angrily. Emmett was worrying… Emmett was worrying?

I glanced over at him. He was staring a Rosalie with a crease between his eyebrows. He was worrying about Rosalie, of course… I wondered if he was over last night's spectacle yet? Emmett glared at me then and more feelings bubbled up. Anger. Resentment. His fist which had been wrapped around a carton of chocolate milk contracted. The carton crushed easily and milk ran down his hand, over his food, and dripped to the floor. Alice edged her chair farther away, probably to protect her shoes. I pushed a dry napkin toward Emmett. He deliberately took some off Rosalie's tray.

Nope. Not over it.

I looked out the window. There were a couple of birds hopping about on the wet grass. I watched them for awhile. Bird One plucked a huge worm and Bird Two began the chase. The chase took place on foot, and it reminded me of those stupid potato sack races children compete in. Why didn't they just fly?

This is what I've been reduced to... Analyzing the behavioral habits of birds to avoid the tension.

I was aware of Rosalie; her anger intensified with a sharp burst.

It surprised me, but I tried to ignore it by concentrating harder on the birds. Then I heard Edward's hiss echo across the cafeteria. I glanced out the corner of my eye.

Rosalie was glaring venomously at Bella. Bella seemed to be locked in Rose's gaze, unable to turn her frightened face away from the enraged blonde vampire. Edward was seething his whole body on lockdown to stop himself from doing something stupid.

I didn't hesitate.

_Boredom,_ Rosalie.

Rosalie sighed and turned her head away.

"Rose, why--" Emmett stopped short.

"Why what?" She muttered tonelessly.

Emmett hesitated suddenly unsure. "Why do you have to do that?" He practically whispered. "If Alice is right… wouldn't it be better to be on good terms with the girl?"

"No," Rosalie hissed.

Emmett didn't respond. Instead he just stared down at his hands. Regretful. My best guess is he regretted opening his mouth.

"Here's my cue," Alice said softly.

She reached over to me and stroked my face.

"See you soon," she said while getting to her feet.

"Love you Alice," I said as she turned away from me.

She looked back and smiled. "Love you too, Jasper."

I watched her walk over to hover behind Edward's shoulder.

"Alice." He greeted her.

"Edward." She answered back.

Apparently neither had forgive the other yet.

Edward waved his hand between the two and introduced, "Alice, Bella… Bella, Alice." The introduction was not generous.

"Hello, Bella." Alice was suddenly happy and excited as she addressed her new friend for the first time. "It's nice to _finally_ meet you."

I wonder if Bella noticed Alice's rather conspicuous stress on the word _finally_ or if she understood the black look Edward shot Alice when he noticed it.

"Hi, Alice," Bella greeted quietly. She was shy.

"Are you ready?" Alice asked. A bit hopefully.

I'd bet _anything_ that she was hoping the answer was no so that she might get a little more time to talk to Bella.

"Nearly, I'll meet you at the car." He replied. Annoyed.

Alice was very disappointed at this but she left without another word.

Bella stared after Alice. Jealous. Wow, maybe Alice really was right, and thoughts of immortality were already starting to enter young Bella's head without any prodding from Edward.

"Should I say "have fun" or is that the wrong sentiment?" She asked curiously.

"No have fun works as well as anything else." He answered amused.

"Have fun then." Sad now.

"I'll try." More amusement. "And you try and be safe please."

"Safe in Forks -- what a challenge." Annoyed.

I could see her point.

"For you it is a challenge." Concern. "Promise."

I could see his point too.

She was sad again as they said there goodbyes. Her sadness seemed to amuse him more. But as Edward walked away from Bella he began to feel sad too.

Interesting


	15. All Bets Are Off

When nine o'clock rolled around I was starting to get worried. Neither Edward or Alice had come back yet. Had something happened? Then my cell phone rang and I breathed a sigh of relief to see her name on the caller id.

"Alice," I breathed her name in to the receiver.

"Jasper," she greeted.

"Where are you, will you be out much longer?"

"No, Edward wants to make one more kill before we pack it in. I swear Jasper, I don't know how much more liquid his body can hold, he might actually make himself sick…"

"Huh…" Well, maybe he should rethink it, I wanted to say. But I didn't because he wouldn't.

"Anyways," Alice continued, "stage one of Emmett's revenge will be in effect soon and I wanted to tell you stage one has very little to do with you… Let him get away with it and don't worry, I did print out a couple, but I wouldn't tell him…"

"Alice, what are you talking about, what's he going to do?"

She laughed. "Really, Jasper, there's nothing to worry about yet, you'll find out in about three minutes…"

"Well, what's stage two?"

"I'll let you know when he's decided," She said.

"Alright," I hesitated, "Alice, about tomorrow… Can you see how she's going to react?"

I could almost here her frown on the other end of the line.

"No, I wish I could…" Then her voice cheered up a bit. "Maybe it won't be so bad though, look how well she handled the vampire thing."

"Maybe your right…" I murmured.

"Look, Jasper, I've got to go, Edward's getting impatient. I love you."

"I love you too, Alice," I answered.

Click.

"Oh, Jasper… Could you come here a minute?" I heard Emmett speak downstairs.

Let him get away with it, let him get away with it, Alice said not to worry… But I worried. I walked at no more than human speed to put off the inevitable. Emmett was standing by the computer… waiting.

He felt… pleased.

"Yeah?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I think there is something wrong with the computer," he said gesturing with a chuckle.

"So?" I asked not taking my eyes off him.

Emmett shrugged and chuckled again. He walked away from me with a little bounce in his step and didn't look back.

In spite of myself I edged closer to the computer. There was something lying up against the computer tower. I picked it up. It took me a second to fully understand what I was holding in my hands. A car speaker. Surprisingly artful for Emmett. The magnet in a car speaker was probably powerful enough to wipe the computer hard drive clean. Bye, bye pictures. Then another second passed and I recognized the logo on the speaker. Suddenly fireworks burst before my eyes. Emmett had removed the speaker from _my_ car. My car! My beautiful jade green Mercedes CL 63 AMG defiled by that loathsome, mammoth sized mother --

A snarl ripped through my clenched teeth. Emmett's laughter boomed upstairs.

"Rosalie!" I yelled even though it was not necessary. "Rosalie help!"

Okay, so in the back of my mind I knew I was being ridiculous. Screaming for Rosalie like my car was a person dying before my very eyes… It was just the speaker. It was just a car. The damage probably wasn't unfixable, and even if it was unfixable it wasn't like I ever had much chance to drive it… So why did the walls suddenly seem to be closing in on me?

"Not a chance. You made my man wear a dress. You are on your own." She laughed with Emmett.

That b****!

Another part of my mind began reciting Alice's words. _"Let him get away with it and don't worry, I did print out a couple…"_ She knew! She knew what he was going to do to my car and didn't stop him! I took a couple of deep breaths to cam myself. She printed out a couple… Oh. She saved a couple pictures did she? Well, that could be promising…

* * *

I turned the page of the magazine, struggling to suppress the grin I could feel growing on my face. It wasn't just me either. I could hear Carlisle's soft laugh up in his study. Rosalie was giggling beside Emmett who was going to lose it any second now. Esme was watering the flowers, with her lips crushing themselves together.

The argument had been going on for about an hour now. Edward had picked out his clothes for the day and Alice was trying to get him redressed in the set of clothes she picked out. I don't know why he's fighting so hard, doesn't he know by now how much easier it is to just give Alice her way? Not that I could see why it was so important to Alice either. I saw the outfit she was trying to dress him, blue jeans, a white sleeveless button up, and a tan sweater. Not exactly earth shattering apparel.

Now they were starting to just scream their arguments over one another.

Edward was bellowing, "Alice, I've already told--"

Alice was shrieking, "Edward, I went through all this--"

"--you I'm wearing this! Bella--" He got louder.

"-- trouble to pick out something suitable--" So did she.

I wonder if the neighbors are close enough to hear all this?

"--likes yellow it reminds her of the sun!" Edward continued.

"--for you to wear and Bella won't care about the color--" Alice wasn't giving up.

"What does it matter anyway?! No matter how I dress--" Neither was he.

"-- she'll only care about spending time with you!"

"--I'll still look like a monster!"

There was a break in the storm as they both paused to refill their lungs. Then the fighting resumed louder, and more childish than I could have thought possible.

"WEAR THIS, WEAR THIS, WEAR THIS--" Alice was shouting over and over again.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO--" Edward rose beautifully to the occasion.

"--WEAR THIS, WEAR THIS, WEAR THIS, WEAR THIS--"

"--NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO--"

Well, they have stamina, I'll give them that.

Emmett couldn't contain himself anymore and his roar of laughter added to the din.

"-- YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES--"

"ALRIGHT! FINE!" Edward roared.

I thought that was going to be the end of it. I was wrong.

"NOW WAS THAT SO HARD--" Alice was venting.

"WAS THAT SO HARD? YOU LITTLE--" Edward wasn't done either.

"--YOU STUBBORN, IDIOTIC, IMMATURE--"

"--ANNOYING, IMMORTAL, PEST OF A CREATURE--"

"--JERK! YOU SHOULD TAKE--"

"WHY DON'T YOU GO--"

"A FLYING LEAP!"

"BITE YOURSELF!"

Growls simultaneously ripped through the atmosphere and then…

Silence.

They must be glaring at each other now.

"Go bite yourself? Haven't heard that one in a while, eh, Jasper?" Emmett spoke around his laughter.

"Mmmm…" My response was forgotten at the sound of a slamming door.

I could hear Alice now, flouncing down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom step and looked around at us.

"What?" She snapped.

_Happy,_ Alice.

She looked at me. I held my arms out to her and gave her an apologetic grin. Alice sighed and gave in. She crossed the floor to me and got in my lap. I held her close.

"So, do you really think he's going to bring her back?" Emmett asked no one in particular.

"I can't see that, but I think so." Alice answered.

"I bet he doesn't," said Rosalie pessimistically.

"Rosalie!" Esme said, shocked.

"What? The way his temper has been lately, along with the way she smells, and the utter lack of witnesses, the odds aren't exactly going in her favor…"

"I bet he'll bring her home," Emmett said. "You know Rose, I could use bigger tires on my jeep…"

"I could use someone to schlep bags for me on my next shopping trip…" Rosalie answered.

"Jasper you want in?" Emmett asked. "Will he bring her back?"

Did I want to gamble on Bella Swan's life expectancy? Is he kidding?

Edward paused at the door as he heard the thoughts inside my head. He turned to look at me.

"I bet it will kill him if he doesn't," I said softly.

The smiles disappeared from every face. The quiet was suddenly deafening. Edward stared at me for a long moment.

_You know it's true Edward. If you fail at this…_

Another slammed door.


	16. Infuriate Edward Day

"That's atrocious, Jasper," Alice said, standing beside me to survey my handiwork.

"I know, don't worry, its only staying long enough for Emmett to get a good glimpse." I smiled.

The lady at PhotoSmart was most accommodating. Apparently they have a don't ask don't tell policy so the trip was devoid of awkward questions, unfortunately there were still awkward glances. However, she was more than happy to blow up a picture of Emmett so that it would fit the 4 x 3 foot frame that was now hanging flamboyantly over mine and Alice's bed. I really wasn't going to leave it there, it was distasteful, and as soon as Emmett visited, Alice's Monet would go back up.

The best part about this move was that he couldn't get revenge for this one. I didn't broadcast this to the whole family this time. He agreed. I could have a picture. He is the one who neglected to say what I could do with it. Anyways he deserved this after what he made me do when I lost our last bet. I shuddered from the memory and refocused my attention to a much more interesting subject.

"Edward?" I asked.

Alice's eyes have been zoning in and out since the moment Edward slammed the door. Mostly she was just bored, moving at a human speed through the woods took a lot longer than it would take at vampire speed, and all Edward did was ask questions while Bella followed him deeper into the woods. Although there was one moment when Alice felt amusement. Apparently Bella doesn't have much luck with goldfish.

I knew the moment they arrived at the meadow by Alice's emotions. The boredom was replaced by anxiety and she closed her eyes waiting. I waited too, watching Alice as intently as she was watching them and then, relief.

"What?" I had asked.

Alice smiled and answered, "She isn't afraid… She tells him he's beautiful, that he looks like an angel… He likes that… He's laying down in the grass… She sits next to him…"

It looked like Emmett was going to get his new tires after all.

Until later when Alice's horror had me panicking.

"No!" She had cried out, frozen in place like a statue.

"What's happening?" I urged. Then suddenly I felt overwhelming relief.

"He almost… almost… He stopped himself… It was close," Alice had answered.

I could hear the anguish in her words. Edward was struggling and there was no one there to control him except for himself.

Maybe Rosalie would be taking Emmett on a shopping trip soon.

"Stop it! Your scaring her," Alice had growled angrily, immediately after, as if Edward could hear her. Before I could ask Alice informed me that Edward was giving Bella a demonstration of some of his abilities. Personally, I think its about time she felt a little fear for the right reasons.

Now she answered, "He's still just talking to her." Then a flash of inspiration. "Oh, Jasper, c'mon!" She turned away from me before I could protest.

"Where are we going?" I asked, following her obediently.

"You'll see!" She called over her shoulder.

* * *

"Umm, Alice, I don't think this is a good idea…" I muttered.

I had been trying to dissuade her ever since I found out where we were going. Now I was just voicing the obvious, I had given up hope of convincing her to change her mind.

"And why not?" She asked coyly.

"Breaking and entering for starters… It's illegal. Her father is the police chief…"

"You and I both know he won't catch us. Besides, he's gone for the day and I don't plan on breaking anything."

"Edward will know we were here."

"If you're too afraid, stand watch." With that she was up the side of the house and slipping into Bella's open bedroom window.

I paced along the side of the house for about half a second and with a sigh of resignation I climbed in too.

Bella's room was small but surprisingly tidy for a teenager. Alice was over at the closet taking inventory.

"Alice, is this why we came here? We already know what Bella wears, we have school with her remember?" I prodded her impatiently.

Alice sighed and without turning to face me she explained, "Jasper, it isn't always about what a girl wears, sometimes its about what a girl _doesn't_ wear. I wouldn't have to explain this to a woman, you know."

"Maybe you should have brought--" But Alice interrupted me.

"See? Look!" She exclaimed holding up a long skirt.

"Okay…?" I don't get it.

"Well, we definitely haven't seen her in this, right?"

"Ummm…" I racked my brain trying to remember, but to be honest, what Bella was wearing was never the most important factor to me.

"So what is she saving it for?" Alice continued.

It was a rhetorical. I was pretty sure of that as Alice replaced it in the closet. I busied myself by pretending to look interested with analyzing of the contents of Bella's room and looked at her book collection. No harm in looking at books. But I was a little surprised by the work located there.

"Huh…" I spoke mostly to myself.

"What did you find?" Alice asked looking over at me.

"Bella likes the classics… Austin, Shakespeare, Chaucer…"

It was kind of refreshing. No _Harry Potter_, no _Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_, no cheesy fantasy romances with a dark stranger and a helpless heroine. At least Bella had some standards.

It was more than I could say for the love of my life who was still sorting through Bella's clothes, muttering unintelligibly. I continued to stare at the book spines.

I tried to distract her with inconsequentials. "So why the big blow out this morning over Edward's clothes?"

"Hmm? Oh!" Alice laughed. "That's the same outfit that Bella is wearing! I thought it might be a good icebreaker... I was so worried I wasn't going to be able to hide what I knew, I over focused on my anger to distract from the vision..."

I laughed. Today must be Infuriate Edward Day. Alice was really pushing her luck.

I heard the sound of squeaky wood and I turned to see Alice opening the top dresser drawer. "Alice!"

"What?" She asked dragging a finger nonchalantly through what I'm sure was Bella's underwear drawer.

I was desperately trying not to think of all the ways that this was wrong.

"Edward is going to be furious," I repeated, reminding her of my original argument.

"Oh, I'm sure between the two of us we can keep it from coming to a beheading." Alice laughed, closing that drawer and moving down to the next.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Bella's the hopeful type!"

I was sure I was going to regret asking but I was curious. Guilty, but curious.

"How do you know?"

"Well, realistically, how many chances is she going to get to wear this?" Alice pulled out a purple two piece bathing suit. "Still, she brought it anyway."

I averted my eyes to the floor. Yup, I regretted asking.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

"Alright, Alice, come on… You've had your fun. Put it back and let's get out…"

"Oh, alright," she snapped. "They are running back to the truck anyway, they're almost there ."

"Running?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yeah, Edward's got her slung over his back…" Alice launched herself out the window.

We were back home when Alice's excitement rippled out of her like a heat wave.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"He's going to try and kiss her!" She squealed with delight.

I flinched with horror. What was Edward thinking? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Let him change his mind, I silently begged, let him not kill her. Or at the very least let his control be better than we ever gave him credit for…

"He did it! He kissed her! She kissed him back!" Alice was happy now.

Thank god.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

For fans of _Harry Potter_ and _Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_ I have nothing against the stories. I am as much and HP addict as i am a Twilight addict. As for SOTTP I didnt read the books but i saw the movies and i like it. Also for fans of cheesy fantasy romances with a dark stranger and a helpless heroine, if i didnt like those types of stories i wouldnt be writing this one, would I? I was merely demonstrating that Jasper knew what books were in with teenage girls and he was not impressed.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!


	17. The Night of the Dance

The dance wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was almost worth the pain the humans caused me, to be able to experience the pleasure that was Alice in my arms. Rose and Emmett weren't here which meant Alice and I had some alone time and that was never a bad thing. Well, as alone as two vampires can get surrounded by hormonal teenagers. Even the climate was nice tonight. Not at all as chaotic as a normal school day. Mostly there was just happiness. I wasn't the only one happy to be in my lover's arms.

"Jasper?" Alice murmured my name.

"Yes, Alice?" I asked, looking down at the only face with the power to restart my heart.

"Thank you," She whispered.

This took me by surprise. "For what?"

"For coming tonight for starters, I know you didn't want to… But also for letting Edward be happy. I know your still worried, but this will turn out okay. I can feel it."

Worried? Yes, I was still worried. Volturi. Exposure. Her death. His heartbreak. Accidents. But I remember the way Edward felt when he came home from Port Angeles, so completely at peace. I had never felt that from him before. Not to mention his strange bursts of hilarity, his laughter sounding so warm and genuine and infectious. Maybe I don't understand why he chose her, but, despite my worries, I can see that it's a good thing he did.

"Edward has always sacrificed for us without complaint, it's time we gave something back. He deserves his happiness." I took a deep scorching breath, and concentrated on separating Alice's scent from the rest, then sighed a little. "Love…" I mused. "It comes in so many forms… even the form of an accident-prone adolescent."

Alice giggled. "She really does have some issues, doesn't she?"

I chuckled too. "_She_ has issues? Who was it that snuck into her room while she was gone for the day to analyze her clothes?"

"Okay, maybe I got a little carried away…" She grinned at me.

I was pressing my lips to her forehead when her body stiffened in my arms. I could feel shock ripple through her and I stilled my feet automatically. I pulled back a little to see her vacant expression.

"What? What Alice? Is it Edward? Did he…?" I was momentarily horrified.

"No, it's not Edward," She reassured me but she was nervous. "There are strangers coming. They crossed an old trail of ours, up in the mountains, they are following it in…"

"How many?" I asked.

"Three. Two male. One female."

"When?"

"Soon. Two days, maybe three."

"Will they be a problem?"

Alice didn't answer right away. Then she sighed. "No, I don't think so, they're just curious."

"We should go… Carlisle will need to know…"

"Yes, yes let's…"

* * *

Edward burst through the door, well after midnight, a grin etched on his face. I couldn't stop my own grin from emerging as I felt his happiness. His eyes were alight in a way I'd never seen before. His excitement was oddly palpable, that is, until he spotted me lurking nearby.

His eyes narrowed and the smile faded. He took a step toward me and I immediately took a step away.

Esme flitted into the room. "How did it go?" She asked while I discreetly edged over to stand behind her.

Edward suddenly calmed, his eyes relaxed and his expression became distant. He smiled and a feeling of peace floated through him along with love. I was feeling his love so much more clearly now, in the absence of all his other emotions, that I was a little bemused by it.

"She said she loved me," He whispered, it seemed he spoke more to himself than to Esme.

Esme was overjoyed.

Alice was suddenly standing in the room, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "See? I told you…" Her voice trailed off as Edward turned his attention to her.

Clearly, from the look on his face, it was the wrong thing for her to say.

"Her room, Alice?" He was livid.

"What? Like you never broke into her room without permission?" She shot back defensively.

"What's this?" Esme asked in confusion.

"That is hardly the same thing!" Edward countered, ignoring Esme. "I was there because I wanted to know she was safe! You were there to snoop through her belongings!" He wasn't quite shouting yet but he was getting there.

"Well, I wouldn't have had to snoop through her belongings if you would have just let me talk to her like I wanted to!"

He snarled at her. Alice held her ground throwing him a ridiculously indignant look.

_Happy._

The tension eased almost immediately but Edward turned his attention to me. "How could you let her?"

I shrugged and thought apologetically, _It's just easier to do what she wants, sorry._

Edward sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to change and then I'm heading back. And you…" He glared at Alice,"…you stay out of her room."

She just rolled her eyes behind his back.

When Edward came downstairs he was thoughtful. He looked at Alice -- who was now sitting on the couch watching television with Esme -- for a minute. Her eyes suddenly slid out of focus and just as quickly back into focus.

"Thank you Edward!" She shrieked leaping off the couch.

She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"What's this?" Emmett asked.

"I think its time you all met her," Edward said slowly. "If she agrees, I'll bring her by tomorrow… If… If that's alright." He seemed to be unsure of his decision.

"Of course it's alright, we'd love to meet her." Esme sincerity seemed to give Edward a little more resolve.

Then Edward hissed. He glared malevolently at Rosalie who was returning the glare with equal malice.

"You will not be rude to her, do you understand me?" Edward spoke through his teeth.

"I won't be rude to her because I won't be here at all." Rosalie turned her face away from him like she smelled something disgusting.

"Rosalie!" Esme was appalled.

"Rose…" Emmett gave a hopeless plea. He was disappointed, but resigned.

"We're going Emmett!" She snapped.

They left the way they came, slamming the backdoor behind them.

Edward rolled his eyes and left too.

Rosalie wasn't always like this. So unpleasant. If you could get past her air of conceitedness she was pretty easy to be around. But it seems the closer Edward gets to Bella, the more caustic Rosalie becomes toward Edward.

It's not like I can't see her point. I knew her story as well as the others did. She had wanted the dream so badly. The white picket fence, the big house filled with children, the children created by her and her husband's love for one another… Growing old on a porch swing watching the grandchildren tumble about the lawn…

Then the dream had been taken from her.

Her fiancé had turned out to be as monstrous as a vampire, maybe even more so, for I had never desired to do what he had done to any woman. I hated myself when I had had to feed from a woman, it went against the last dregs of my humanity to hurt one. As a human I had been raised to protect women, not harm them. If I had been with the Cullen family back when Rosalie joined our world, I would have killed the bastard and his accomplices myself. To make matters worse, Rosalie's despair and pain was such that she wanted to die, but she wasn't even allowed to have death.

I suppose Rosalie felt that Edward was repeating what she considered to be her fiancé's and Carlisle's mistakes. Taking away Bella's future, taking away Bella's right to die. I also suppose it's very easy for Rosalie to hate Bella for being so willing to give up everything that Rose had ever desired. But I could see a point beyond Rosalie's. Alice's point. Edward's point. Esme's point. That point was very important because it mattered more than Rosalie's. The point, whether Rose liked it or not, was that Bella was not Rosalie. Bella wasn't in love with a human who could give her children and grow old with her and die with her. She was in love with a vampire. That changed everything.

"You know," Alice interrupted my train of thought, "that wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be. I figured he'd be chasing us around with a blowtorch or something."

"Mmm… She has quite an affect on him, doesn't she?" I mused.


	18. Meeting Bella Swan

I stood motionless in a sea of clothes. My clothes. Alice's clothes. Alice was ransacking our closet like a jewel thief looking for a hidden safe. I gave up trying to help her and settled for being her proverbial Barbie doll.

She dressed. She re-dressed. She re-re-dressed.

She dressed me. Re-dressed me. Re-re-dressed me.

Then back to her.

It wasn't as if I could just make her happy. She _was_ happy. That was the problem. Alice was finally going to be allowed to make her new friend. The thrill of the happiness was making her anxious, not in a bad way, but definitely in an irrational way. And what could I do? I certainly wasn't going to be responsible for making her _un_happy.

"Jasper," she whined, "I don't have anything to wear!"

"You look beautiful, Alice," I told her dutifully; honestly.

"I always look beautiful to you… I want her to like me…" She sighed.

"Alice, I couldn't imagine anyone not liking you. Just be yourself and relax."

Some of her anxiety abated at the word relax but only for the length of a human's heartbeat. Her eyes clicked out of focus and then the anxiety was back.

"They'll be here in ten seconds!" She exclaimed.

I cocked my head and realized I could in fact here the truck's engine roaring up the drive toward the house.

Alice froze, her eyes scanning the room and then landing on me. She glared at me, her expression almost angry.

"Tuck!" Alice barked.

"What?" I was surprised by the sudden hostility.

"Tuck in!" She repeated sharply.

Before I could sort through the confusion Alice was at my side.

"Alice!" I cried out in surprise as she shoved her hands roughly down the front of my pants.

"Stop wriggling!" She snapped. "Lift your arms up!"

Once I did as I was told I realized what she was doing. Oh. Tuck. She wanted me to tuck my shirt in. No. She wanted to tuck my shirt in. I slowly rotated on the spot letting her make me pretty.

"Crap, they're here!" She groaned. "I'm not finished yet."

"What else is there?" I asked.

She wasn't listening to me. Part of my mind was keeping tabs on Alice as she whirled about the room. She threw her clothes haphazardly in to the closet, while picking out another outfit for her to re-dress in. She pulled her current clothes off and threw them in the closet with the rest of the tangled mess she was creating. She hastily pulled on the her new ensemble.

The majority of my brain was focused on the conversation downstairs.

"Carlisle, Esme," Edward introduced, "this is Bella."

"Your very welcome, Bella," Carlisle greeted.

I heard several of Carlisle's unusually slow footsteps and Bella's louder two. They must be shaking hands.

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen." Bella spoke without a tremor in her voice. She was brave wasn't she?

Esme's light footsteps. She must be shaking Bella's hand too.

"It's very nice to know you." Esme welcomed.

"Thank you. I'm glad to meet you, too." The sincerity in Bella's voice was surprising. What kind of human was glad to meet a family of vampires?

"Jasper, come on!" Alice grabbed my arm and tugged impatiently toward the door.

We reached the top of the stairs just as Edward asked, "Where are Alice and Jasper?" As if he didn't already know the havoc his new girlfriend was wreaking on my wife.

"Try not to scare--" I began but Alice ignored me and called out, "Hey, Edward!" before I could finish.

She darted down the stairs at a speed faster than poor Bella's eyes could probably register. I braced myself to comfort Bella, but she didn't need me. She flinched in surprise at Alice's unexpected closeness but there was no fear there.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice's delight was distracting, but again I focused on Bella, for Alice had just bounded forward to kiss Bella's cheek. I don't know how she managed to do that, Bella's scent was just as appetizing as any other human, how could Alice, or Edward for that matter, stand it? Why would they want to? I regretted that thought instantly and mouthed "sorry" to an irate Edward. "Stay away from her," he very clearly mouthed back. I didn't argue with that. That's exactly the kind of thing I didn't want to be remembered for, being the jerk who killed Edward's other half.

Bella still wasn't afraid. A little shocked at Alice lips suddenly touching her cheek, but above all Bella was _pleased._ Bella was pleased to be kissed by a vampire? Very brave. Bella felt a twinge of unease as she noticed Edward's tense posture, but by the time Alice pulled away giving Bella a clear view, Edward had wiped his face clean of his irritation.

"You do smell nice, I never noticed before," Alice blurted out.

Bella's face flooded with scarlet as embarrassment squashed her pleasure. I adverted my eyes from her face as I drifted slowly down the stairs, hoping that if I traveled at human speed her face might cool before I needed to look at it again.

I gave her the warmest smile I could find while trying not to show too many teeth so I wouldn't accidentally scare her. I suspected she'd shy away from me as she should have shied away from Alice, but she returned my smile with a timid one of her own, and to my great surprise as she smiled at me she began to feel _comfortable._ She was comfortable around me? That was a new one.

Edward glanced at her and then raised a confused and questioning eyebrow at me.

_No, that's all her,_ I told him, guessing the question behind the stare.

Bella noticed Edward's expression this time and she gazed at me too… with suspicion. Bella was suspicious of me? Did she think I was doing that to her? Too funny.

"Hello, Bella." I tried to sound welcoming while hoping she wouldn't offer to shake my hand.

Still smiling she returned, "Hello, Jasper." She glanced around herself and added, "It's nice to meet you all…" Bella hesitated before adding very conventionally, "… you have a very lovely home."

"Thank you. We're so glad you came." Esme sincerity was mixed with a little admiration. Apparently, Bella's bravery had not gone unnoticed by Esme either.

Carlisle caught Edward's eye then, no doubt using the casual break in conversation to fill Edward in about our other company. Edward nodded unhappily in response to some silent question. I glanced at Bella who was watching the soundless exchange. There was a flash of recognition. She was observant. She looked away quickly. Brave, observant, and I guess now polite needs to be added to the list.

Now she was staring at Edward's piano feeling sentimental. I wondered what she was remembering. Would it be rude to ask?

"Do you play?" Esme asked Bella, nodding to the piano.

"Not at all. But it's so beautiful. Is it yours?"

Esme laughed. "No, Edward didn't tell you he was musical?"

"No." Bella glared at Edward feeling a little disgruntled. "I should have known I guess."

Edward stared guiltily back at her.

Esme, slightly confused, raised her eyebrows.

Bella sighed in response and answered Esme's unasked question. "Edward can do everything, right?"

Laughter bubbled in my chest and burst out of my lips before I could stop myself. I clamped my lips together trying to restrain myself. Emmett would have absolutely _loved_ that. Funny had to be added to the list. Observant. Brave. Polite. Funny. Too funny. As long as she continued to make statements like that, well, it might be worth the burn in my throat to have her here.

"I hope you haven't been showing off, it's rude," Esme scolded.

"Just a bit," Edward said laughing too.

Esme's face was positively smug as they spoke silently to one another.

"He's been too modest, actually," Bella interrupted them.

"Well, play for her," Esme encouraged.

"You just said showing off was rude," Edward objected.

"There are exceptions to every rule," she replied.

"I'd like to hear you play," Bella volunteered a bit hopefully.

"It's settled then." Esme gave Edward a shove in the direction of the piano.

He reached out and wrapped his hand around Bella's. She blushed again, her heart seemed to stutter at his touch, but still… No fear. That simple gesture, the holding of her hand, set off a whole new round of emotional revelations. Alice's glee. Esme's ecstasy. Carlisle's pride. Bella and Edward's love.

Edward sat down pulling Bella next to him. He gave her a long look, one laced with frustration. I wonder whether his frustration now came from her silent mind or his inability to deny her, her request. She returned his gaze just as steadily, just as unblinking, waiting with polite expectation.

Edward turned away and began to play a familiar composition. This one was Esme's favorite piece, and as Edward's finger's danced over the keys, Bella's mouth popped open in astonishment. I wasn't the only one who chuckled at her dumbfounded expression, but there was no criticism in mine or anyone else's laughter.

Edward winked at her. "Do you like it?"

Realization and disbelief struck her simultaneously. "You wrote this?"

"It's Esme's favorite." I noticed the abrupt change in Bella's mood immediately. Suddenly I felt like I was trespassing on their moment, invading their privacy, leaving me with an extremely wrongish feeling.

"Shall we?" I whispered to Alice gesturing back up the stairs.

Carlisle and Esme took the hint without hesitation. Alice needed a little convincing. I hated to do it, but I did it.

Alice, _compliance._

"Alice, lets go upstairs…" I murmured, shamefaced.

Alice was up the stairs without a word to me as I followed along behind.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked from behind me.

I hesitated. Was he talking to me?

"I'm feeling extremely insignificant." Bella answered quietly.

The music changed.

"You inspired this one," Edward told her softly.

I left them to their moment.


	19. The Answers

"Did you see how she looked at him?" Alice asked.

I couldn't help but smile at her excitement. "I saw."

"And the skirt Jazz… She was wearing the skirt!"

"I saw," I repeated. I wondered what that meant to Alice, but I didn't dare ask.

"She wasn't afraid when I kissed her cheek, was she?"

"No, there wasn't any fear."

Then Alice grinned wide. "She wasn't afraid of you either, was she?"

I frowned, remembering. "No. She wasn't."

"I told you, didn't I?" Alice said smugly. "I told you she'd like you too."

I chuckled; remembering that too. "Yes, you did."

Alice closed her eyes then and put her hands to her temples. I could tell by her concentration she was looking to the future. I wondered what she was looking for now. How long until Bella's transformation? Or did Alice still suspect Edward was going to have lapse in control? Was she searching for a bad breakup on the horizon? Or what Bella was going to wear to school tomorrow?

I listened as Edward and Bella got up from the piano and he led her upstairs to take a tour of the house. I pulled my attention away from them in an effort to give them privacy and refocused on Alice.

For the thousandth time I began memorizing all her sublime features. Her perfect hair, a halo of ink around her face. Her sharp chin, her perfect lips above that, the delicately angled nose, the perfect topaz eyes that sparkled with her happiness and were now hidden behind her closed lids. The slender, graceful neck, that now arched slightly as her head bowed in concentration. Her delicate fingers resting on the sides of her head. Her feminine curves flattered by immaculately cut designer clothes; clothes that I now realized were worth every penny. Her flawless skin, pale to human eyes, but even in the artificial lighting, sparkling.

Or maybe she only sparkled in my eyes because I loved and needed her so. She was more than just my wife. She was my salvation. She was my reason for being. My northern star. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Was she always so beautiful to me because I realized just how lucky I was that she was mine to behold? My soul would forever be bruised by past sins, my body forever scarred by ruthless acts of violence, my life tarnished by my inability to control my nature, and yet, despite it all, she still had chosen me.

Carlisle might call it divine intervention. Alice was definitely divine. But I knew something, or rather feared it, and that was that God and all his infinite power was reserved for the good. He was for the innocent souls who mocked my kind on October 31st without knowing the true implications behind their costumes. Soldiers who gave their lives in a foreign country to protect their loves ones back home. Husbandless women who worked for minimum wage while struggling to raise their children. Men who slept on street corners because they had no where else to go. He was for people like Bella Swan who was willingly putting herself in harm's way to ignite long forgotten passions in an old soul. I had lost all right to call myself good or innocent by the countless murders I committed and the atrocities I inflicted on both vampire and human kind alike. There was no divine intervention here, how could there be? I was lucky, that was all. I was the luckiest bastard on the face of the planet, but lucky nonetheless.

I absorbed myself in Alice's concentration as she immersed herself in the future. I paid close attention to the emotions each new vision brought her. This one was cause for concern. That one was cause for happiness. That one was intriguing. This one was funny. This one was annoying. That one exciting. Times like these I wished for Edward's gift, so I could watch alongside Alice, understand why which emotions presented themselves.

Her eyes snapped open to meet mine.

"Jazz! Guess what?" She asked playfully.

"We are taking a road trip to Phoenix, Arizona, so we can analyze Bella's _other_ closet!" I teased.

She laughed. "No! There's a storm moving in, it will hit town this evening, thunder and lightening and everything. You want to play a game?"

"Yeah!" I enthused.

Playing sports was always difficult for us to do without attracting attention. Our enhanced abilities made us natural, too natural, at physical activities. Gym class was the bane of any vampire's existence. You can only throw the game so many time before finding yourself struggling to suppress the urge to spike the volleyball through a wall. Not to mention thanks to our hard bodies any accidental collision resulted in a sound much like a rockslide.

Alice grabbed her cell phone off the end table and pressed speed dial. It rang twice before someone picked up.

"Yeah?" It was Emmett.

"Hey, Em…" Alice paused and asked, "How's Rosalie… doing?"

"Well," He laughed, "she's calmed down a bit. All thanks to my superior consolation skills I'm sure."

There was a thud on his end of the line. I was pretty sure Rose had just hit him. Not surprising considering what Emmett's idea of what it means to be consoling is when it comes to Rosalie. Emmett and Rosalie pretty much used any excuse to work physical intimacy into there everyday lives.

"Emmett," Alice said moving the conversation right along, "there is going to be a storm tonight, you want to go up to the clearing and play a game?"

I waved a hand at Alice to catch her attention. "Football or baseball?" I mouthed.

"Sweet!" Emmett shouted.

"Jasper wants to know whether you want to play football or baseball?"

There was a pause while he thought it over and then Emmett said, "Baseball."

Figures. He probably doesn't want to choose the sport most likely to mess up Rosalie's hair. It'd just give her more reason to be unpleasant.

"Alright, it gives me a chance to use the new pitch I've been working on. See you soon?"

"Yep, be there in a bit." Emmett hung up the phone.

Alice flipped hers closed and smiled up at me.

"C'mon, let's go round up the others!" Alice said, her hand already on the doorknob.

We were in the hallway when we heard it. From up in Edward's room there was a low growl. We froze. My stomach tightened. This was it then. The girl's end. Edward's pain. Our reason to relocate.

But the Alice laughed and said "Oh!" and at the same time, Bella, whose voice was tense with something that might have been annoyance, declared, "You wouldn't."

Another growl followed and we heard Edward launching himself through the air. Bella gave a sharp gasp, but there was no scream of terror. From the sounds of it, they landed in his sofa with a thud and enough force to send it into the wall with a crash.

Alice skipped slowly up the stairs in a state of giddiness. I followed along more relaxed now that I realized he was roughhousing and not ruining his life.

"You were saying?" Edward growled.

"That you are a very, very terrifying monster," Bella told him with sarcastic undertones in her breathless voice.

"Much better," he approved.

"Umm… Can I get up now?" She asked.

Edward just laughed.

We were outside the door now.

"Can we come in?" Alice asked called softly.

Without waiting for an answer, or maybe already having seen it, she opened the door.

"Go ahead," Edward said, still chuckling, as the door swung open.

Alice walked right in like she owned the place, but I hesitated at the threshold. Edward was sitting on the sofa with Bella in his lap. His arms were wrapped around her waist, his nose just a few inches from the delicate skin of her neck. But his dangerous proximity to her was not what made me hesitate.

"It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch and we came to see if you would share," Alice said sitting down on the floor.

What made me hesitate was the emotional climate inside Edward's room. There was an undiluted happiness between the two, intoxicating it its purity, filling the room from floor to ceiling. There was a love and an adoration now pulsing between them, as audible in the air as her beating heart. Edward was holding Bella recklessly close, but the burn that should have been tormenting him was barely noticeable, hidden behind a powerful desire that had nothing to do with thirst. Bella, who by now knew the risks of interacting with monsters, who now understood what we were capable of, sat quite comfortably in his arms filled with trust. A trust so deep, so absolute, it was awe inspiring.

"Sorry, I don't think I have enough to spare," Edward replied holding Bella closer, subtracting a few of the inches that separated his teeth from her neck.

It clicked into place for me then.

All the questions were suddenly answered. Of course Edward should fall for this human, how could he fall for anyone less? He was my brother and he deserved to be happy and Bella was capable of making his every molecule sing with joy. Of course Bella should fall in love with him too. From what little emotional intel I gathered from her, she wasn't an unhappy person, but now her happiness leapt off the page like bold print. And what other human could bear to fall in love with a vampire except one that was so inexplicably trusting?

All my fears were utterly foolish. Edward wouldn't kill her. He could not kill her without killing himself and he was not suicidal. She was our dirty little secret, a broken law, but she was a secret I could gladly keep. Maybe we found a law the was worth breaking. As for exposure, Alice had clearly known what she was talking about. There was no doubting that Bella could no sooner betray Edward than he could take her life. All the risks were completely worth it.

I couldn't help but smile as I entered the room.

"Actually," I explained, "Alice says there's gong to be a real storm tonight and Emmett wants to play ball. Are you game?"

For a second Edward's eyes lit up with the exciting prospect of being able to play a sport for real, but they dimmed with his hesitation.

"Of course you should bring Bella," Alice added seeing the problem as quickly as I did.

I threw an appreciative glance her way, thankful. I wasn't ready to lose this climate.

"Do you want to go?" Edward asked her, excited, his eyes lit up again.

"Sure," Bella said enthusiastically, red faced and smiling. "Um, where are we going?"

"We have to wait for the thunder to play ball--" at Bella inquisitive glance he added, "--you'll see why."

"Will I need an umbrella?" She asked apprehensively.

We all laughed at her question.

Then I decided it was a valid question. Alice never did say how far the storm would stretch.

"Will she?" I asked curiously.

"No." Alice was positive. "The storm will hit over town. It should be dry enough in the clearing."

"Good then." I enthused.

Not that the rain made much difference to me, but humans didn't like getting rained on very much. If Bella said no, Edward would too. We needed him to make the teams even, and truth be told I wanted them both there so I could get my happy fix.

"Let's go see if Carlisle will come!" Alice leapt to her feet in one fluid motion and was at the door in another.

"Like you don't know," I teased.

I shut the door behind me, forcing myself not to look one more time where Edward was still clutching Bella to his chest.

"What will we be playing?" I heard her demand.

"_You_ will be watching," Edward clarified. "We will be playing baseball."

"Vampires like baseball?" She asked.

"It's the American pastime," He replied.

I chuckled quietly.


	20. The Game

"What's taking him so long?" Rosalie sighed impatiently sitting down on the rock beside Esme.

Rosalie was under a misapprehension. She thought Edward was late because he was taking Bella home. The truth was he was late because he was picking Bella up from home. Nobody was in a real hurry to enlighten in Rosalie.

"I'm sure he won't be much longer," Esme said patting Rosalie's knee.

"Yeah, Babe," Emmett said sitting down beside Rosalie, throwing a carefree arm around her. "You've seen how slow her truck goes. it probably takes awhile to get back to town. Then he's gotta walk her to the door and you've seen how she walks…" Emmett chuckled. "Walking her to the door will be a project in itself."

Emmett was nervous as he tried to pacify Rosalie. He knew what Edward was really up to, too. He barged into my room about five minutes before we left the house to ask what I did with his Jeep. I tried to tell him in a very casual tone that Edward had borrowed it. It took all of one second for Emmett to find the only reason Edward would need a souped-up off-road jeep. He was taking the knowledge with him to the grave, rather than being the one to evoke the wrath of Rosalie.

On the plus side, now Alice's Monet can go back up.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "I'll get started marking bases while we wait."

"C'mon, Jasper," Alice danced to my side, the baseball spinning on her index finger like it was a basketball. "Let's warm up a bit!"

She let the ball roll down her fingers into her cupped palm and tossed the ball to me. She turned and fled to the outfield with me in pursuit. She skidded theatrically to a stop, leaving tread marks in the damp grass. With a giggle, her arms went up over her head and she did a triple pirouette on one toe, coming to a stop facing me.

I laughed at her antics. My happy little ballerina. My Alice.

We had only just begun to throw the ball between us when, from somewhere in the forest, we heard a loud of roar of laughter echoing off the trees.

Rosalie snickered on the rock. "Honestly, I think you might be right about him Emmett. Definitely losing his mind."

I stole a quick glance at Emmett. He shifted uncomfortably on the rock and said nothing. Rosalie didn't seem to notice, to busy arranging her hair underneath her baseball cap. I turned my attention back to Alice, wondering just how badly Rosalie was going to handle Bella's surprise appearance.

A few minutes later I heard Rosalie spit, "No. Way," through her teeth.

The breeze carried the deliciously painful scent of human across the field. Alice threw the ball to me and looked toward the group on the edge of the clearing. I followed her gaze.

It was the first time a human had ever graced our place of choice for sporting events. It should have felt wrong having her here, watching something that no human eyes have ever bore witness to, at least not a human who survived the experience. But my epiphany was still strong, and it felt almost natural to have her here. She was family now, strange but true. She should be here. She belonged.

Rosalie didn't seem to agree with my assessment. Without a second look at the happy couple, she rose from the rock and stalked toward us. Emmett surprised me though. When Rosalie stood I expected him to follow. He didn't. He stared at her back for a second with an unusually troubled look on his face, and then followed Esme toward Edward and Bella.

"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked.

"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett declared, and although I couldn't see it, I was sure his face was returning to the normal expression of good humor.

"That was him," Bella answered.

_Her_ face I could see just fine. Her cheeks turned pink, and guessing by her tone of voice and the smile that played her lips, she too was teasing Edward.

Alice started toward them and I began to follow when Edward evened the score.

"Bella was being unintentionally funny," he said smirking at her.

Her face turned beet red and I froze mid step. No. I would not go say hello. The storm was turning the air muggy, a condition that would make her smell more appetizing up close, not less. The strong wind that gusted about the field every few minutes, spreading her scent about was bad enough. Her red face in combination with the intensified smell would only make things worse. I would not be responsible for killing this girl.

I threw the ball to Rosalie, where she stood with her back to the others. Her hand leapt up to catch it almost involuntarily.

"It's time!" Alice announced.

Almost as if her words commanded the storm to begin, thunder began to crash in the west.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett said to Bella who smiled shyly back at him.

"Let's go." Alice reached for Emmett and the two ran hand in hand to the enlarged baseball diamond.

"We get Jasper," Emmett announced puffing out his chest with self-importance, clearly already electing himself team captain.

Alice pouted. That was distracting. I love the way her lips look when she does that.

"Wow, Alice, I'm hurt. I wasn't aware that having me on your team was such a strain." Carlisle plastered a look on his face like he had just been mortally wounded.

"Are you ready for some ball?" Edward asked.

"Go team!" Bella exclaimed a little more enthusiastically than I think she wanted to sound.

Edward laughed again and dashed after Emmett and Alice.

"I get to pitch." Alice said catching Rosalie eye, who in turn lobbed the ball to Alice.

"Jazz, you'll need to catch."

"Just as long as I get to bat first," Emmett said while flexing his muscles for Rosalie's benefit.

It was probably for Bella's benefit too, trying to impress the human, but I doubted she was paying attention. She was deep in conversation with Esme. Besides, I doubt that a girl who felt comfortable enough to kiss a vampire would be very impressed or intimidated by his show.

I headed over to stand behind Emmett who was already taking his place at home plate. He began his practice swings, the aluminum bat made a melodic whistle as he whipped it through the air. The sound was like adrenaline in a human body, it put me on edge, ready and waiting, raring to go…

I glanced over at Esme who was refereeing the match, anxious to have the game start. I love Alice, but I am taking her pixie butt down. Edward chuckled and a sideways glance revealed him staring at me.

"You don't mind then?" Bella was asking. Annoyingly holding up the show. "That I'm… all wrong for him?"

The question took me by surprise. She was perfect for him. What did she think was wrong with herself?

"No. Your what he wants. It will work out somehow." Esme answered Bella.

I caught the thoughtful look in Esme's eyes as she appraised Bella and I didn't need my gift to know what she was feeling. I had seen that look before. I had seen it shortly after Alice and I had inducted ourselves into the Cullen family. Esme was adopting Bella. I wonder if Bella understood that look, if she knew she just got a vampire for a second mother… Would she mind? Probably not.

"All right," Esme called out, "Batter up!"

Finally.

I crouched down behind Emmett as he got in his batting stance, my eyes locked on Alice… waiting. At first she was motionless, like she was waiting for something too, but I knew what was coming. I was half tempted to distract Emmett, but I refrained. There was something about Alice's pitch, the way her hand raced outward from its standstill like a lightning flash. Something graceful about the way the ball seemed to respond more to her thoughts than her actions. I was barely aware of anything but her when the ball smacked into my hand.

"Was that a strike?" Bella asked.

The girl didn't know what a strike was?

"If they don't hit it, it's a strike." Esme informed her.

I threw the ball back to Alice, who smiled and without hesitation she unleashed the ball again. I was ready to catch it, but the bat flashed through the air and collided with the ball. Before the sound had finished reverberating off the mountains Emmett was flying around the bases. My eyes followed the ball's progress, arcing into the sky and flying over treetops, and I caught the flash of movement as Edward disappeared into the woods. I closed my eyes, tilting my head… listening.

"Home run," Bella murmured.

She had a lot to learn.

"Wait," Esme cautioned.

I could hear everything for miles around. Leaves rustling and old limbs creaking in the wind, the padding of fox feet as the creature searched for refuge and the heart beating in its chest, the whisper of grass blades rubbing together… More importantly I could hear the baseball whistling through the air, the crackle of branches being pushed aside as it began its descent to earth. I could hear Edward's feet and the even rhythm of his breath as he ran to meet it. I could hear a very familiar smack followed by the sound of Edward's return flight.

"Out!" Esme cried as Edward burst through the trees.

I chuckled and stepped up to the plate as Rosalie took over catching. I suffered from no illusions, I knew I'd never be able to hit a ball faster than Edward could catch it. Alice smiled her challenge at me and I braced myself. I would not miss. When she set the ball loose I was ready. I hit a ground ball toward Carlisle. Him, I could outrun.

Carlisle dashed to intercept the ball and then gave chase. I ran to first base willing my legs to reach further and further, swallowing the ground. Carlisle was preparing a leap to the base I could tell that, he knew he couldn't outrun me. He leapt. I leapt. We crashed.

The laughter bubbled out of both of us as we struggle to keep our hands on the base.

"Too slow, Carlisle. The drawbacks of old age." I teased.

"Not a chance, your out. The folly of youth." He grinned back at me.

We both looked at Esme.

"Safe!" Esme called.

"Ha!" I leapt to my feet.

"Enjoy it, Jasper." Carlisle said getting to his feet. I heard the challenge in his statement and I smiled at him.

Our team was in the lead, when Edward finally caught the third out, and we moved to pick up our positions in the field. I took up the pitcher's mound, knowing that Rosalie was the better fielder and I didn't have the strength to be shown up by Edward more than once. The boy was fast.

The score was constantly in flux and I was impressed with Emmett using his mass to knock the other players down rather than let them get to the plate. Sure it was cheating, and Esme would furiously rebuke us, but we weren't the only ones cheating. Alice was using her talent to see exactly when she should swing and signaled the others when they should swing. Thank to her, Carlisle hit a ball so far out of the field I thought we would never find it again.

The thunder rumbled on in the distance, like a crowd's encouragement, and we took to throwing jibes at one another for added distraction.

A couple of innings later, Alice had been banned from catching to stop her from tipping off her teammates. Carlisle stood ready with Edward catching now. I rolled the ball between my fingers, preparing to throw a curve, when Alice gasped. Edward turned his attention to her immediately. Their eyes met and the look of horror on her face was mirrored on his. Edward moved from Carlisle side to Bella's at such a furious speed I didn't need to ask what danger was coming. Bella was well protected from almost any threat while she was with us. The biggest danger to her now… was us.


	21. Bloodlust Is Black & White

"Alice?" Esme's voice was tense.

"I didn't see, I couldn't tell," Alice whispered.

The others were clustering around Alice now, but it was unnecessary, they could hear her perfectly. I shifted uncomfortably; the air was thrumming with stress.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked with the calm voice of authority. The calm was a lie. He hid his anxiety better than the others.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before." She murmured, frightened and guilty.

She was frightened. Fright was not an emotion I ever wanted Alice to feel. I moved closer and leaned over her, desperate to protect her from anything and everything that ruined her peace of mind.

"What changed?" I asked.

"They heard us playing and it changed their path," she answered, her guilt intensifying.

_"They heard us playing and it changed their path."_ It changed their path? They were coming here? It's not like I didn't already suspect as much, but to have it confirmed… My eyes weren't the only ones that flicked involuntarily to Bella's confused and frightened face.

"How soon?" Carlisle asked, turning to Edward.

A look of intense concentration crossed his face.

"Less than five minutes. They're running. They want to play." He scowled. Edward was afraid too. And angry.

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked.

"Not carrying--" He stopped short. "Besides the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three," she answered tersely.

"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come." His anxiety shifted, almost immediately, into anticipation. He flexed his muscles in preparation for a fight.

Carlisle was quiet for a moment, deliberating. We all watched him closely as he tried to decide the best course of action. He was nervous as he thought, but when he spoke again his answer sounded confident.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle decided. His voice was cool and level, and I couldn't help but admire the strength it must have taken to keep his tone calm. "Alice said they were simply curious."

"Are they thirsty?" Esme whispered below Bella's hearing range.

Edward shook his head. That relieved her. Not me. I knew how quickly thirst could change. All they needed to do was catch a whiff…

"You catch, Esme," Edward said. "I'll call it now."

I headed back to the pitcher's mound, pausing to search the vacant looking tree line. Nothing was there, not that I really expected to see anything. We'd hear them coming long before they arrived. As I turned to throw the ball I thought about Emmett preparing to fight. Would it come to that? A fight?

"Take your hair down," Edward commanded and Bella silently obeyed.

As she shook her hair out she whispered, "The others are coming now." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." He instructed her with swift words laced with stress.

It was almost ironic.

Not too long ago, I had planned on fighting Edward, incapacitating him so that I could kill Bella, so that I could protect my family from the threat she posed. Emmett had been in agreement with me. His love for his family drove him into agreement, but for me it was different as it always would be. My history gave me a different take on things. I had viewed Bella as a threat to my life and my family's lives and I analyzed her the way I had been trained. I had been trained that threats could not be tolerated. Eradicate the threat. It was so simple.

"That won't help," Alice said; watching as Edward attempted to hide Bella's frequently scarlet cheeks behind her hair.

"I know," his answer was clipped. His face was more miserable than I had ever seen.

I pitched the ball softly to Carlisle, not really attempting to strike him out, just praying for a peaceful ending to the game.

"What did Esme ask you?" Bella soft voice drifted on the breeze along with something else. Her scent. Alice was right. A change in hairstyle was not going to fool them for long. Bella could stand stiller than a statue and it wouldn't make much difference. There was no hiding the sound of her heart.

"Whether they were thirsty." Edward answered without meeting her eyes.

I shivered but I wasn't cold. I shivered because it wasn't simple anymore. When the strangers arrive it would be three to seven. They weren't dangerous to us, not really. Nobody is stupid enough to mount an attack that outnumbered. So these newcomers shouldn't be considered a threat at all.

Then there is Bella. If Bella still posed a threat to my family, and truth be told she probably did, I didn't really care about that anymore. Bella was Edward's Alice. How could I destroy her, when her existence saved his? Bella was family too.

So I'll make it simple again. Bella is family. The strangers were a threat to her. They were a threat to my family. Threats must be eradicated. If it came to fight then yes, I would fight. If it came to a fight then they would die. They would not be allowed to harm my new fragile sister no matter how delicious she smelled.

A smile spread across my face and I didn't have to check to know that I was the only one smiling. I was surprised and oddly pleased at how after living in peace for so long, how easy it was to slip back into my old frame of mind. To be able to view the world as black and white, calmly and rationally plot the destruction of another. Imagine all the ways in which I could take them apart, the sounds they'd make as their limbs ripped from their bodies, the sickly sweet odor as they turned to ash in the flame…

Bloodlust. Both beautiful and monstrous, it never truly fades no matter how long you suppress it. It meant I could never be trusted alone with my appetizing sister, a fact I knew and accepted. But it also meant I could always protect my family, I could do what needs to be done to keep them safe.

Alice will never have a scar on her perfect body to rival those on mine. Bella's heart would continue to beat until old age or immortality took it from her. Carlisle and Esme could continue their lives of love unhindered by the loss of it. Emmett and Rosalie could continue to revel in their passion and numerous vanities without disturbance. Edward could continue to explore the humanity reawakened within his unbeating heart as long as there was breath in his body.

I would see to it.

My smile grew with my determination and anticipation and increasing bloodlust. I was glad no one was really paying attention to me now. I probably looked as psychotic as the townsfolk thought me to be. If Bella cared to look, I bet I'd look dangerous to her now. Her poor human eyesight could not miss the maniacal look that controlled my face. She was not looking at me though, Edward was talking again. It gave me a chance to rearrange my face into a more appropriate expression of concern.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he muttered fiercely, "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."

It was stupid of him to apologize. He didn't know they would come here. How could he when even Alice couldn't know that.

_Don't worry, Edward. They won't touch her. They won't be able to,_ I promised him.

If he heard me he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he moved to put his body between her and what was coming. I could hear them too, they were that close. The three of them running in the distance, drawing nearer. We all turned to watch their entrance. I braced myself for the clash.


	22. The Nomads

They came one at a time through the trees; two male, one female. The first male to enter hesitated at the sight of my family, clearly not having expected a welcoming party so large. He fell back behind the second male to enter so the leader would be more clearly displayed. The female took her place beside the first male, she too kept the dark haired leader up front and visible.

They moved with slow stealthy steps, like scavengers approaching a kill that they aren't entirely sure had been abandoned; prepared to run or defend themselves should their find still have a dangerous owner. They were dressed like hikers, their clothes dirty and well weathered, but their feet were bare and exposed. The female's hair, a violent shade of red, was cluttered with nature's fragments from traipsing through the forest.

"Emmett, Jasper," Carlisle murmured.

He stepped forward to meet them and Emmett and I moved into position to protect his flanks. The monster in me, a ruthless creature I usually kept shackled to a wall, began to rattle his chains impatiently. He was ready. He wanted to come out and play. I held on to my sensibilities, ignoring the monster's encouragement. There was nothing to gain by starting a fight needlessly. I would not shame Carlisle that way. The monster roared with frustration at my decision. _Be patient,_ I thought to the monster, _the day hasn't ended yet._ The monster calmed at that, anxious, but slightly appeased.

As the three of us approached the three of them, I sent a wave of calm out over the strangers. They visibly relaxed, straightening out of their slightly crouched walk. They didn't appear to realize that something was being done to them and their ignorance seemed to give Carlisle a little more confidence.

"We thought we heard a game," the leader said with a smile and a French accent. "I'm Laurent, these are Victoria and James."

Laurent was smiling confidently but beneath the smile was an air of nervousness. Good. He was intimidated by us. That would work in our favor. If he's afraid of us he certainly won't want to challenge us. But if he did…

I quickly assessed him. No scars on him, at least not that I could see, clearly he didn't make it a habit of challenging other vampires. He was brawny, he would be strong, but he had nothing on Emmett. He was nervous, intimidated by us, which meant he probably didn't think his chances of winning a fight were all that good. I dismissed Laurent. If it came to a fight Emmett could have him.

Victoria. The female had a shifty, wild look to her. There was something about the way she positioned her weight -- like her body had been frozen by some mysterious force just as she was about to shift into a hunting crouch -- that made a warning bell ring in my head. She was dangerous. Her eyes were never still, they darted from face to face to face, probably analyzing threats the way I was. That bothered me. Would she notice the human girl hidden behind my brother? If she noticed, she said nothing. She, unlike Laurent, was confident. But she was wary too. The wariness was good, it might make her behave herself.

James set off another warning bell. For some odd reason, as Laurent had introduced him, he had a brief flicker of irritation. He did have a scar, just below the jaw line, and the proud way he held his head, it was like he was displaying it. Like he was saying, "I'm still here." The way he stood there inconspicuously, quietly watching the interaction like a third party observer, his alert eyes conveying the confidence he felt... Yes, he was dangerous too. He also gave me the hunch that Laurent was not in charge here.

"I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Rosalie, Esme, and Alice, Edward and Bella." Carlisle introduced.

I was pleased with how he handled the introductions. It was smart. Pointing out the groupings but not pointing to anyone in particular. Not accidentally drawing attention to someone by attempting discretion and leaving them out of the roll call.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked.

Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"

Say no. Say your just passing through.

"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."

"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourselves."

I kept a hold on their emotions, keeping them calm. Laurent seemed genuinely affable now that the conversation had become casual, but I couldn't get a fix on the other two. What thoughts motivated their emotions? If it came to a fight, who would I take? James or Victoria?

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent asked.

"The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali." Carlisle reply was cause for great curiosity.

"Permanent? How do you manage that?"

"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably? It's a rather long story." Carlisle invited warmly.

I didn't like the way this was going. He could tell them everything he wanted to from right here. He shouldn't have invited them to stay. He shouldn't have dragged Tanya's family into this. Actually he shouldn't have told them anything at all. He should have sent them packing the moment they asked to join our baseball game.

James and Victoria exchanged a look when Carlisle mentioned the word "home," they were surprised, but intrigued. Laurent too was surprised but he controlled his expression. It felt like he appreciated the offer.

"That sounds so very interesting, and welcome." Sincerity as he spoke. "We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." Appreciation again as his eyes noted Carlisle's polished appearance.

"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carlisle explained.

"Of course." Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway," He laughed.

James caught my eye. James emotions were more cause for alarm. More so than the emotions of the shifty female with her restless eyes, or the faux leader and his agreeable attitude. He was annoyed by Carlisle and irritated with Laurent. Clearly he didn't like Carlisle setting rules for him, nor Laurent agreeing to those rules. Now James was eyeing me speculatively, his crimson gaze lingering on my mangled face and ravaged neck with a sense of ill wonder that made my stomach clench and forced the monster to strain wildly against the bonds that held him back. I kept my face impassive; neither did I acknowledge his stare nor did I turn away from it.

"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us," Carlisle explained. "Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward and Bella to get the Jeep." He added casually.

Three things happened next.

First as Alice moved toward Edward and Bella, James gaze flicked to her. _"Don't you look at her!"_ The monster roared as the stranger's unworthy eyes lingered on my beloved. I tried to beat it back into its place as venom filled my mouth. Then the wind changed directions, and the warm, sweet scent of human washed over the field alerting the three vampires to the illegal presence. James's thirst flared along with mine; the difference was I suddenly had a target more deserving of my bite than the frail human frozen with fear by Edward's side. Thirdly, James spotted Bella and lurched into a crouch. Edward moved into a crouch of his own just as quickly and the snarl that tore out of his mouth was more than a warning… it was a challenge and a promise in one.

"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed with surprise.

But I was no longer concerned with Laurent. I was barely concerned with Edward and James. I was concerned with Victoria.

Edward and James made my decision for me. In a fight I would take Victoria. Edward would not stray far from Bella, he would not give anyone the chance of getting through to her. James seemed entirely focused on his thirst and his anger at Edward for defending the creature that could quench it, and in that, he had sealed his fate. If James had threatened Alice in that way, whether she was human or vampire, I would have killed him without a second thought. He would not live to look at Alice the wrong way for a minute longer than it took a spark to catch. How could I deny Edward the right and the satisfaction of killing the thing that would take away his happiness? The only reason Edward hadn't moved was because of Bella's vulnerability. He needed James to make the first move. He needed James to come closer.

And James _was_ considering moving first. He moved his weight, looking for an angle to strike from and Edward shifted to counter that strike.

"She's with us," Carlisle admonished. Like that mattered now.

Victoria was eyeing the two with anticipation and something akin to glee. I watched the vicious energy twist her feline features into something cruel and feral. The expectant smile that left her teeth exposed and dripping reminded me of rabid animal, and like all rabid animals she needed to be put down. I looked at her excited face and wondered if she had any idea that I was about to rip it off.

"You brought a snack?" Laurent asked taking an involuntary step closer.

Edward's response was another ferocious snarl and it was enough to force Laurent's retreat.

"I said she's with us," Carlisle corrected in a hard voice.

I spared a small corner of my mind to feel the anger rising in Carlisle. After centuries of maintaining it, it seems he had finally lost his patience. He couldn't tolerate the upstart that threatened his family.

"But she's _human,_" Laurent's protest was weak. He was more confused and astounded than anything else. The piece of my mind that had kept tabs on Carlisle was now wondering if Laurent was expecting Ashton Kutcher to jump out from behind a tree and yell "Punk'd!"

"Yes." Emmett confirmed in a voice that sounded so menacing it captured even James's attention. Emmett was excited, but not like a rabid animal, more like a shark that smelled blood in the water and was ready to take advantage of the convenience. He was staring at James in a way that made it quite clear he was not going to allow James to get one iota closer to Bella.

James finally seemed to realize, as he looked at Emmett, that the odds were stacked against him. He rose up, his eyes landing on my skillfully kept impassive face. I would not betray my emotion. Neither he nor his mad mate would have the privilege of knowing when I would strike. His eyes flickered to Emmett and my face and then returned to Bella's so fast, I wondered if human eyes were sharp enough to spot the movement. By the time he had straightened all the way, his eyes were fixed again on the object of his desire, and that desire had not abated in the slightest.

When Laurent spoke again he was trying to defuse the hostility that I should have neutralized myself. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other."

I tried to calm myself and the monster within. Thinking on bloodlust alone would not help anything. Not yet.

"Indeed." Carlisle's answer was not accompanied by generous emotion. His children had been threatened. Whatever trust he had scrounged up for these newcomers was gone now.

"But we'd like to accept your invitation." His eyes flickered to Bella and back. "And, of course, we will not harm the human girl. We won't hunt in your range as I said."

Laurent may have been sincere but he was the only one. James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent. Then he and Victoria exchanged a conspiratorial look filled with desire and defiance. I knew then that the two of them had every intention on hunting here.

"We'll show you the way," Carlisle told Laurent after analyzing the stranger's face for a moment. Something in Carlisle tone alerted me to the fact that he wasn't fooled. He knew only one would accompany us back to our house.

"Jasper, Rosalie, Esme?" He called.

I moved back without question, the monster hated my obedience, and joined Rosalie and Esme as they approached. Emmett backed away from us entirely, never taking his eyes off James, never relaxing his posture. He was at Edward side and at the ready.

"Let's go, Bella." Edward said.

I heard no movement. I glanced over. She was frozen through with shock. He tugged on her arm breaking through her haze. He pulled her along, ignoring her stumbling at his side, desperate to have her out of here. Alice and Emmett brought up the rear, Emmett using his considerable bulk to hide Bella from sight and Alice with her eyes, both here and away, watching for an attack that I would not allow to come.

I turned my attention back to the three vampires, two of which were now smiling cruelly.

"You know," said James speaking for the first time, "I don't think Victoria and I will be able to accept your invitation."

"I figured as much," Carlisle answered shifting his weight.

He wouldn't fight alone. My muscles tensed. Rosalie hissed and crouched. Esme's hands curled into waiting claws.

Laurent backed out of the way.

Victoria and James began backing away, their teeth bared. I prepared to lunge after them when Carlisle's hand grabbed my forearm. In another life, I would have bitten off his hand without thinking but I held myself in check.

"Let them go, Jasper," He whispered.

"Why?" I hissed.

They were so close. So outnumbered. Why wait?

"We don't know what they're capable of," his answer didn't satisfy me, but then his eyes flicked knowingly to Laurent who was still frozen in place, away from the main confrontation. Ah. I get it. An inside man.

I nodded.

James and Victoria turned and fled realizing the chance we were giving them and taking it.

Carlisle straightened and turned his attention to Laurent. "If you truly mean no harm here, the offer still stands."

Laurent nodded. "I am curious about the life you have built. I'd like to accept your offer. I believe my allegiance with James and Victoria is at an end." He shook his head with regret. "I won't harm the human… pet."

He had to search for the last word. It was clear he had no idea what Bella meant to us, but he was trying to understand. He reached the wrong conclusion. Now was not the time to correct him.

"Home then," said Carlisle.

We ran then, the five us streaking through the night darkened forest. Carlisle in front, with Rosalie and Esme at his sides, and me hanging back, lingering next to Frenchie, prepared to strike a deathblow should he act on their unprotected backs. He glanced at me nervously from time to time, no doubt already having figured out my role on this run.


	23. Diplomacy is Overrated

I was only partially pleased with the way the conversation was progressing. Carlisle had agreed to tell Laurent about our way of life on the condition that he reveal everything he can about his "friends" first. I was pleased that Carlisle had the sense to get to the vital information first. I was pissed that he was going to take the time to explain our lifestyle choice to the stranger. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like a bad time to be outlining the family memoir.

Laurent had met James and Victoria in Montreal. He had been hunting when he heard a commotion in the distance. Curious, he had called off the hunt to find the scene of the disturbance. He had watched with morbid interest from afar, as James fought another male vampire with a skill that awed while Victoria flitted around, torn between a crazed excitement and her duty of blocking off all escape. The other vampire never stood a chance. He couldn't escape for Victoria's watchful eye and he couldn't win against James's experience.

_Experience_. That was a joke. I wonder what James would make of my experience? No not James. Edward wanted James. Victoria then. I bet I'll just blow her mind… right before I put my foot through it.

"I joined up with them soon after that," Laurent was saying now, "It was a no-brainer. I had wandered alone for far too long, and what safer company than two so skilled?" He frowned with irritation and disgust. "After, I realized my mistake, but I made no move to correct it, that is, until now."

"How so?" Carlisle asked, impatiently.

"James. He's a tracker." Laurent said, shaking his head.

_Tracker_. The title made my skin crawl. Of course he'd be a tracker, we couldn't just luck out with an average bloodthirsty hunt obsessed vampire. No, we had to encounter a vampire that specialized in all things hunting, right when we've decided to adopt a human into the family.

"His love for the hunt is disturbing. He's a big game hunter; the more difficult the hunt, the more dangerous the quarry, the more pleasurable the kill." More disgust.

"Does he have any special abilities?" Carlisle asked.

"Nothing extra, just his senses and his mind, which, unfortunately for his prey, are very sharp."

"And Victoria?" I intercepted.

He looked at me and whatever he saw on my face made him look back to Carlisle immediately.

"Victoria is just as dangerous. She's… cunning."

"How so?" Carlisle prodded.

"She just is. There have been times where James's addiction to danger should have cost him his life. Victoria is just as good at playing these games as he is, when the pressure's on, she always seems to find a way."

I watched Laurent trying unsuccessfully to ignore me. _I think we should kill him._ Victoria and James were members of his coven and look how easily he betrayed him. Loyalty clearly isn't high up on his list of priorities. He has no incentive to be faithful to us. We've gotten the information that we needed, we should just end him now. But Carlisle would never allow it.

I suppose I should be ashamed of myself for thinking this way. This is why I left Maria, to escape the fighting and the bloodlust and the anger and the hatred. This is why I left Peter and Charlotte, to escape the fear of the dying and the guilt of the sin. This is why I joined with Carlisle. To be able to escape the pain; theirs and mine. To live a life of peace with my love.

The thoughts I was having now were not peaceful.

_This is different_, I told myself, trying to justify myself.

In the South, when I fought… Well, my enemies never asked for the life they were leading. They had all been human once, with parents and children, they had had lovers, wives, and husbands, they had had siblings and relatives and friends. They had had names, lives, and homes. That had been taken from them. They were forced into living a life they never asked for, forced to leave behind all they knew and loved. They were forced into fighting for a cause they didn't believe in, never knowing their servitude was a death sentence until it was too late. All they knew was that they had been human and suddenly they weren't. Suddenly they were something that hid in the shadows of their old human nightmares. They knew they were thirsty. They were almost innocent. It had been wrong to turn them, it had been wrong to pit them against each other like fighting dogs, and it had been wrong to execute them when their year of usefulness was up.

In my travels with Peter and Charlotte… The people I fed on were thinking, feeling, weakling creatures. They gleaned their comfort in life from their loved ones, their various belief systems, and their jobs. Everybody was always somebody else's baby, in more ways than one. How many Alices had I killed? How many people had mourned and cried and died as a result of such a profound loss? Humans were utterly defenseless against my strength, most couldn't even attempt to defend themselves when faced with my speed, and all had lost their lives so easily that their lives might as well not have existed at all.

It was different because Victoria and James and Laurent were making their choices. They chose to come here. Victoria and James chose to threaten my family. We were not forcing them to fight, we were not forcing them to give up their lives, they were choosing to do so all by themselves. Nor were they defenseless, they could launch an offense or a defense and they could do both _well_. There was a difference.

Laurent… He chose to learn. So maybe killing him would be wrong but… But Laurent betrayed his coven at the drop of a hat. He wasn't threatening us, not now, but he was still a threat.

Carlisle was now explaining our story in cliff notes. He explained how he discovered he could survive on animal blood and abstain from killing humans. How he sought out and created others who shared his vision of a peaceful immortal existence. How he brushed paths with Tanya and her sisters in Europe who had also committed to the so called vegetarian diet. He explained how we could walk in the human world undetected as long as we didn't make mistakes and moved to a new place before someone could suspect we weren't aging.

Laurent was very intrigued at certain points during the story, baffled at some, and amused at others. When Carlisle finished talking, Laurent's curiosity peaked.

"And the girl?" He asked.

I had been working very hard on ignoring Rosalie's anger. I had made no move to remove it because in a fight it would help her, but I couldn't ignore it now. At the mention of Bella it burst forth like blast of hot air.

_Relax_, Rosalie, _relax_.

Rosalie relaxed.

Neither Esme nor Carlisle answered the question. It was clear from the glance they exchanged that they weren't sure how to approach the subject. I was positive that if Rosalie were given the opportunity to answer, whatever came out of her lips would not be pleasant…

"What is it to you?" He asked again.

I struggled to maintain control over my bloodlust, the beast within me once again straining at his chains.

"_It_ has a name," I growled at him; he was instantly nervous in response.

In a calmer voice I tried to explain as diplomatically as possible, "_She_, Bella, is family. We have hopes that she will consider joining us someday."

"Consider? You're going to give her a choice? Aren't you at all worried about exposure?" He was skeptical.

I had made the implication enough times in the recent past to understand what he was getting at. Now I knew why Edward and Alice got so upset whenever I had made the implication. I wanted to rip this guy's arms off and feed them to him. I wanted to gouge out his eyes with a red hot fire iron. I wanted to take apart what was left of him, layer by layer. Skin, muscle, bone, entrails…

Screw diplomacy.

My voice dropped lower, "Mortality is hers as long as she wants it. If anyone tries to take it from her or tries to end her life ahead of schedule…" I trailed off.

Even though I never actually said it, my threat was quite clear: Touch her and die. I could tell by the look on his face he understood the unspoken promise. His emotions seconded that.

Carlisle was looking at me, worried and proud at the same time. Esme was just worried but she wasn't looking at me, she was looking toward the door.

"They're home," she whispered, temporarily relieved as the words left her lips.

I ignored the sound of the truck and jeep moving from the highway to the driveway, a sound the rest of my family seemed absorbed in. I knew Edward was not going to be letting Bella out of his sight, she'd be with him when he walked through that door.

"Try anything, Laurent," I whispered, "and I will end you."

Four sets of eyes, three gold and one red, flicked to my face. The gold eyes looked away almost immediately. The red eyes stayed and I could feel their owner's fear bubbling beneath the surface as he realized I meant it.

Emmett burst through the door with Bella cradled protectively in his arms. Edward and Alice flanked him, Alice pausing slightly to slam the door shut. When Emmett set eyes on our visitor, warning growls rumbled deep in chest. He set his cargo down gently and angled himself between the threat and her.

"He's tracking us," Edward announced, glaring balefully at Laurent.

His emotions were powerful and they seemed to fuel my own. I hadn't moved a fraction of a fraction of an inch since we arrived home, but in the presence of Edward anger, it was a struggle to maintain my position. I inhaled deeply, trying to force myself to stay frozen in place.

"I was afraid of that," Laurent replied regretfully.

Alice moved to my side then, and my hand twitched reflexively out in an offer to take hers, but she didn't acknowledge it. Instead she stretched up on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear.

"Jasper, I need you to come with me. We have a plan in place and I need help preparing. Laurent is leaving now, you aren't needed here at the moment. Come." Alice tugged once on my hand and turned away.

I hated to leave the main confrontation, but I could feel Alice's urgency. I would trust her assessment that there would be no trouble in my absence. I followed as she darted up the stairs. As I left the room, I felt Rosalie's fury return. It made me uneasy. The last thing we needed right now was a fight between her and Edward. The family couldn't be divided now.


	24. Doubts

I followed Alice up to our bedroom without question but with each step I took I felt like I was being pulled apart. Every animalistic instinct I had screamed at me to go back. There was danger, both inside the house and without. It felt wrong to turn my back on it so willingly. Yet the few dregs of humanity that lived inside me encouraged me forward. Here was the woman I loved -- more precious than any gemstone, more beautiful than any star shining in the heavens -- and she had requested that I come with her. How could my heart deny that request?

Alice closed the door behind her, and instantly I felt the change in her emotions. Urgency faded to fear. Determination had faded to doubt.

"Alice? What is it?" I asked, worried about her.

I reached out to touch her face but she leapt away and shook her head at me. The minor rejection stung. She pursed her lips and stared at me. She was angry now, but still fearful. I didn't understand the fear. She couldn't think that I would ever allow anything to happen to her? Even if, I failed to protect her, which I wouldn't, her visions would keep them from touching her… Unless… Did she doubt her sight?

"We… Edward, Bella and I," she spoke slowly, watching me with wary eyes, "have come up with a plan. The others are going to create a diversion. When James and Victoria are thoroughly distracted you and I will take Bella and run. Once Bella is out of the way, safe with us, the others will hunt them."

What?! I wouldn't be part of the hunting party?

At first I was irritated that I was being denied a little action, but then I looked at Alice, really looked at her. Then I was relieved. She was so small, so beautiful, so precious… She was like a fairy princess. I wanted her as far from the line of fire as possible, no matter how powerful she might be. The thought of her involved… I shivered as the images of all the ways it could go wrong erased all the images of how it could go right…

"Where are we taking her?" I asked curiously.

"Phoenix," she whispered. "It's the last place she should be so we think it'll be the last place they will look."

That made a little sense. Hmm… A little more irony… Wasn't it just this morning that I made a joke about slipping off to Phoenix to sort through the remainder of Bella's belongings?

As I thought about it, I found another pleasing aspect to the plan. Should one of them sneak passed, find us in Phoenix, then they would find me. It pleased me, the idea of burning them in the dry Arizona desert, watching their bones blaze under the hot southern sun.

Alice was still afraid though and I frowned at her.

"Alice, why are you afraid? They won't hurt you or her, I won't allow that."

"That's not what I'm afraid of Jasper," Alice said raising an eyebrow at me.

She used a tone that made it very clear that I overlooked something vital. I just couldn't figure out what it was.

My thoughts were interrupted by a furious roar that had been unleashed by Edward. I immediately turned to the door, I had to help, but something caught me from behind. It was Alice. She yanked me away from the door, and swung me around by the back of my shirt. She released me and I flew across the room, but I managed to stop myself before crashing in to the wall. I turned to face her but she had already followed me. She was standing in front of me feeling angry and fearful, looking like she wanted to --

Slap.

The flat of Alice's hand smacked into my face. It didn't hurt, not physically, but it surprised me.

"Alice! What's wrong?" I asked, feeling my own panic growing uncomfortably in my throat, threatening to choke me. "What did I do?" What did I do that would force such a reaction from her, to make her angry with me? I didn't understand it and the panic built.

"I'm watching you Jasper!" She blurted out. "You're slipping!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Are you telling me you honestly can't feel yourself doing that?" She was afraid again.

There was a click as realized her what her fear meant. Then I snorted in disbelief because there was no way she could possibly mean what I thought she meant…

"Wait, Alice, are you saying your afraid of me?" My tone was light but it was forced lightness.

"Not of you," she whispered, "I know you would never hurt me… I'm afraid _for_ you."

"I won't get hurt."

"That's not what I mean! Look at yourself!" Alice grabbed my forearm and led me over to her vanity.

My eyes widened with shock at the image reflected back to me, but not before I caught a glimpse of myself. I didn't need to feed yet, but you wouldn't know it to look at me. My eyes were dark, barely a hint of amber left in the irises, and they had the glazed lustful look of an animal driven insane with hunger. I had been trying so hard to keep emotion off of my face that in combination with my eyes, I took on a slightly demonic appearance.

"See what I mean?" Alice came to stand beside me.

I didn't answer, instead I just stared, surprised, into the mirror at our reflections. Demonic and divine side by side.

"Jasper, your slipping, your losing it... That's all fine and dandy now when you have actual enemies to focus on, but what about when that goes away… When we go away? We are in charge of keeping Bella safe… How safe do you think you'll be for her if you continue like this? What happens if you lose control and the only one there to take your madness out on is the soft, delicious human?"

Yes, I saw what she meant now.

Since the moment Alice announced the intruders were coming to the baseball game I had began going over every way to dismantle a vampire. A hundred ways to tear them apart, one way to turn them to ash… When they entered our lives, I had begun strategize… Strengths and weaknesses, theirs and ours. Death tainted my every thought, venom pooled in my mouth, my body aching with the desire to act…

Alice was right. I was slipping and I hadn't even noticed it.

I could see it like I was having a premonition of my own. Cooped up in a motel room with Bella… Her fiery scent slowly spreading through the room, filling it… Me in my unconstrained state of mind… Maybe she sits to close to me or maybe she trips (with her it _could_ happen) and grabs me in an effort to maintain her balance. Her scent drives me mad or I overreact to the sudden unexpected proximity…

It would be so easy too. Humans are so very fragile. My teeth could cut through her skin like a finger through dust, my arms could crush her body to my own like she were no more than a glass doll. Killing her would probably be a tragic accident, a mistake, and maybe even so accidental that I wouldn't even realize I'd taken her life until it was gone.

"Jazz," Alice's quiet voice had a desperate sort of edge to it, "I don't know that I'm strong enough to stop you from doing something stupid."

Stupid. Yes, it would be very stupid. No wonder she was afraid for me. Killing Bella would be a whole new level of stupid.

First there was my brother. Edward had been alone for so long and he had always been so accepting of his loneliness. It was unsettling, like he thought he didn't deserve more than sitting alone at his piano for eternity. When he found Bella it was a total eureka moment; he realized that life was still worth living even if his life was infinite and he realized how sweet life is when you have someone to share it with. If Bella died, he'd have another eureka moment and not a good one. He'd realize just how painful it is to lose the only thing that matters in the world, your perfect other, _his_ perfect other. He'd realize that his soul did in fact exist all along, because the moment her soul moves on, so will his, and he will notice its absence immediately. Edward would probably exact his vengeance on the creature that killed her and then curl up into a fetal position for the rest of his existence.

Then, selfishly, there was me. I don't want to be a monster. I don't want the blood of the innocent in my stomach and on my hands. I don't want Alice to be in love with a murderer. I don't want to feel her grief and disappointment should I kill her new best friend. I don't want to feel Edward's pain, his sorrow, his hopelessness, should she die. I didn't want the guilt of killing my too trusting sister when I was supposed to keep her safe. When Edward came looking for revenge, I'd let him take it.

Slowly, I climbed my way up the slope I had been slipping down. I threw another chain around the monster. I pushed away the bloodlust.

_I will not fail,_ I thought to myself. _Jasper Whitlock, you are a soldier, a husband, a brother, and a son. Failure is not an option. You will not fail. Do what is necessary to protect your family and no more. Do not fail._

"I will not fail," I whispered and then I turned to look at her.

She smiled and threw her arms around me, burying her face in my chest as I buried my face in her hair.

"Good." Alice whispered. "Jasper, you can do this. You _are_ strong enough."

I sighed into her hair, savoring her smell, cherishing the feel of her in my arms.

"I love you Alice," I whispered and then added silently in my head, _I hope your right._

She pulled away.

I watched her curiously as she took a leather hand bag from her closet and began stuffing it with cash. A lot of cash. I suppose she didn't want to leave a paper trail just in case, but wow… All hail Pixie Queen of Overboard County.

"Will we need passports?" I asked.

"No, we aren't leaving the country and we will be driving, regardless." She sighed and turned to face me. "Alright, I think that's everything."

"This is what you had to do to prepare?"

"Well, we don't know how long we'll be hiding… I just want to make sure we have enough. Carlisle is gathering cell phones as we speak. Besides, the majority of the preparing was bringing you to your senses."

I felt ashamed. How close had I come to losing control… My control was so poor I didn't even realize I was losing it…

"Alice, maybe…"

"No, Jasper," Alice cut me off seeing my choice. "Absolutely not. Esme is needed here and you don't need to needlessly tempt yourself."

Tempt myself? Hot blooded Bella was going to be awfully tempting no matter what Alice told herself.

_No,_ I told myself. _I will not fail._ My new mantra. _I will not fail._

We left the room together, but she remained at the top of the stair to help escort Bella down. I looked back over my shoulder to see a shocked Bella being carried down the stairs, Esme gripping one elbow, Alice the other. My mind now cleared of the foggy red haze, I could appreciate the sight. If the situation hadn't been so dire I'd have laughed.

"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella," Carlisle told her as he passed out cell phones.

She nodded in response, but her wary eyes were locked on Rosalie. I didn't blame her. Nobody needed my talent to feel Rosalie's resentment. The murderous glare she was giving Carlisle said it all.

He continued on, trying his best to ignore her, "Jasper, Alice, take the Mercedes, you'll need the dark tint in the south."

I felt an inappropriate pang of sorrow. He meant his Mercedes. Emmett the Neanderthal still hadn't given Rosalie permission to fix my car. Not to mention, she wasn't thrilled enough with me at the moment to take the initiative herself. Next time I go to college, I'm making it a technical school. I have to learn how to fix cars.

"We're taking the Jeep," Carlisle concluded.

Bella's surprise caught my attention as she heard that, and then fear as her eyes touched Edward's face.

"Alice," Carlisle asked, calling my attention away from Bella, "will they take the bait?"

"He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." She was certain.

"Let's go," Carlisle said, determined and resigned.

Emmett clenched and unclenched his fingers excitedly as he followed Carlisle through the kitchen. Edward didn't follow.

He turned and grabbed Bella then and, not for the first time, I was amazed by his control as he touched his lips to hers. Not touched, crushed. I felt a rush of emotions then that I wasn't really prepared for but should have expected. His desperation, his fear, his anger. Her desperation, her fear, her regret. Then he pulled away, and stared down into her eyes. For a second, love burst through as the dominant emotion on both, then it disappeared. Edward became devoid of all emotion causing Bella to become more frightened then ever. His expression was dead. He left without a look over his shoulder, which is just as well, because he didn't have her wet face to change his mind.

I looked away, and so did everyone else, trying to be respectful and give her as much privacy as was possible under the circumstances.

Esme's phone vibrated.

She lifted it to her ear and Carlisle said, "He's following us. Leave now."

She hung up and said, "Now."

Rosalie stalked angrily, resentfully, and resignedly out.

Esme paused to touch Bella's cheek and whispered, "Be safe." Her genuine concern for Bella's safety eradicated her fears and fueled her determination.

And then there were three.

Alice lifted the phone to her ear before it rang.

"They've got her," Edward told us, "its time to go." He hung up.

"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car." Alice bolted to the garage before I could stop her.

Then there were two. The wrong two.

Bella looked at me and I looked at her. I tried to concentrate on trivial things, to distract from her pink tearstained cheeks, the pounding of her heart, the wet rushing of her blood, the scent so good I could taste it on my tongue… Where the hell was Alice with the car?

_I will not fail._

I took a deep breathe, letting her scorch me, and concentrated on her emotions. Her emotions confused me. Regret. Sadness. Worthlessness. No fear.

The utter lack of fear was intriguing. She had just become a new obsession for a bloodthirsty vampire. She should be terrified. But right now, those other emotions dominated, and I couldn't stop myself from wondering why.

What was she regretting? Walking into our lives was possibly the best thing she could have done. Maybe she regretted the unlucky turn of events? And the sadness? Maybe that one was explainable. What she had to do to get away from her father… Now Edward had gone too… But worthlessness? She felt worthless?

Bella was full of worth. She breathed new life into Edward. She gave Alice the gift of friendship, something that could never be taken lightly. Esme had gotten a new daughter. Carlisle had received peace of mind. She had given me a much better emotional climate to explore. She would give Emmett a new excuse to behave like an idiot, which may or may not turn out to be a good thing as time progresses. We could at least give her that for all she's done… We could give her _time._ She was worth it.

The words burst from my lips before I could stop them. "You're wrong, you know."

"What?" She gasped. I surprised her.

"I can feel what you're feeling now--" I hesitated before simply telling the truth, "--and you are worth it."

"I'm not," she mumbled. "If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing."

She was so certain of that statement, I couldn't help but smile. No one had ever been so wrong before in the history of mankind.

I told her so. "You're wrong."

Then Alice was back and we began our journey.


	25. Reassurances

The drive down to Phoenix was both easier and harder than I thought it would be. Bella's blood wasn't as tempting as it would be any other day. It still burned my throat and made my mouth water, but I still had something to focus my energies on... her emotions. That's what made it harder. Her emotions. The fear that had abandoned her back at the house had returned in spades once we hit the highway.

She clung to Alice in the backseat of the car like a castaway to a life preserver. I spared a piece of myself to be both proud and jealous of Alice. Proud that my wife had the control necessary to give Bella some physical comfort when she needed it. Jealous because I knew if I tried to do the same I'd probably fail miserably. Another small part of my mind took a second to note that Bella _was_ comforted be Alice's embrace. But not by much.

The terror was clawing at her, I could feel it as she felt it and it was almost physically painful. Maybe that's why she started to cry again. So I sent out wave of calm, as often as I could, as strong as I could, but even so I could still feel it there, fighting to get free. So I focused my energies on that; defeating her fear.

It took less than twenty four hours to get to Phoenix, only stopping once so Bella could use the restroom at a convenience store. While she relieved herself, I bought her a human appropriate drink and snack. I got nervous when she wouldn't touch either. She mumbled a thank you and re-buried her face into Alice's shoulder. During the ride she had been so quiet you'd have thought she was asleep. Except the occasional flutter of an eyelid blinking signaled consciousness. I got nervous again. Humans were fragile. They had all sorts of requirements for them to stay healthy. They needed food, water, shelter, the right temperature, sleep…

When we arrived in Phoenix I caught a glimmer of déjà vu. The bright sun, the arid heat, the wide landscape looking quiet and dangerous…

If I was playing defense instead of offense I needed new contingency plans. I had spent the majority of the drive concentrating on the cracks in our plan and how to respond should an enemy wriggle through them. No matter how many scenarios I created in my head I could only find one sane response: take Bella and run. It was too sunny here, too populated, and too open to attempt making a stand. Someone would witness something and have it posted on YouTube in an hour's time. If they attacked at night there would be a little more breathing room but not by much. Humans were blind at night but there would be plenty of noise for them to overhear.

I glanced at Bella in the rearview mirror. Her eyes had dark shadows under them, and her lids were sagging with exhaustion, but her lips were frozen in a grimace.

Watching Bella suffer her emotions silently in Alice's arms gave me insight into Esme's compassionate nature. It wasn't that Bella was a child compared to me, which she was, or that she was too fragile for her own good, which was probably true, but how tired she looked… No. Not tired. _Old._ Despite what I was doing for her, despite what Alice was doing for her, it all came down to how much stress Bella could handle. And I didn't like that. This is was Esme's inspiration for compassion. This is why we lived the way we did. Not just to preserve human life but to reduce the amount of pain in the world. There was too much to go around already. Why inflict more? I was relieved that I was part of the defensive line. I could help alleviate some of Bella's suffering. I didn't have to be parted from Alice. If something went wrong, I'd be here to keep the love of my life and the love of my brother's life safe.

And nothing would go wrong, I was sure of that. Five vampires were more than enough to take out two. Rosalie may not like certain circumstances, but she loved her family as much as I did, and she was fierce. Emmett thrilled to every challenge life presented him, life was a game in his eyes, and even though he might lose an occasional bet, he wouldn't lose his life or his family. Edward had the best motivation of all and with the addition of his ability he'd be a force of nature. Esme's compassion wouldn't hinder her, not now. She was a mother with a mother's love and a mother's drive to protect her children at all costs. Carlisle patience would help him. He could wait as long as he needed to, to take care of whatever threatened his family. And he would take care of it. His hatred of violence did not stretch so far as to take away self-preservation.

When I spoke my voice was barely higher than a human whisper "Which way to the airport, Bella?" She flinched violently at the question like I had shouted it at her. My stomach clenched uncomfortably as I realized once again how much stress she was feeling despite my presence.

"Stay on the I-ten," She'd answered in a voice that was borderline robotic. "We'll pass right by it."

We waited for sunset before checking into a hotel for obvious reasons. I was a little relieved when she finally fell asleep just before we got to the hotel. Alice didn't even bother to wake her when we went to the room. She supported Bella's weight and even in sleep her feet instinctively shuffled forward.

Now I sat at a desk in the corner of the living room just staring at the TV. The news was on but I didn't care enough to pay attention. Bella lowered herself to the floor next to the coffee table and began to pick at the tray of food room service had brought up for her. Alice perched herself on the arm of the sofa and stared in to the future.

Once again I began sending out vibrations of calm in an effort to help, the only thing I could do. And, in truth, I felt helpless. Bella was frightened. Alice was stressed. My family was at war. I had no way of knowing what was going on. Alice knew but I was too afraid to ask. I just reminded myself that they wouldn't call if things were going right. That no call had come was proof enough that things weren't going wrong.

Suspicion invaded Bella's fear. I turned to look at her just as she looked at my beloved.

"What's wrong Alice?" She asked.

"Nothing's _wrong._" Alice told her and in that moment I was sure we had been thinking the same thing. She tried to paste innocence on he face and failed miserably.

Bella saw the failure and her suspicion strengthened.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

"We wait for Carlisle to call."

"And should he have called by now?" Her voice raised in pitch.

When Alice didn't answer right away Bella's fear tried to push through the wall I had been constructing to contain it. I pushed back.

"What does that mean?" Her voice was breaking now. "That he hasn't called yet?"

"It just means that they don't have anything to tell us."

Bella's fear pushed again and again I pushed back. This was ridiculous. She was safe with us, she knew that right? She had to know that we would never let anything hurt her. Without realizing what I was doing, I was moving closer to comfort her. One minute I was seated at the desk and a blink of a human eye later I was standing next to Alice, close enough to Bella to feel the air being heated by her warm body. I should have moved away but I couldn't. I had to tell her. She had to know.

"Bella," I said, trying to soothe her with both my voice and my ability. "You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here."

"I know that." She snapped at me.

I thought she should, but then why… "Then why are you frightened?"

Her brown eyes stayed on my face but they wouldn't quite meet my gaze.

"You heard what Laurent said." She whispered, her eyes glistening with tears she refused to shed. "He said James was lethal. What if something goes wrong, what if they get separated? If something happens to any of them, Carlisle, Emmett… Edward…" Her voice choked in her throat as she said Edward's name and her skin blanched.

"If that wild female hurts Esme…" Her voice was raising from its whisper and I struggled harder than ever to beat her fear into submission. "How could I live with myself if it's my fault? None of you should be risking your lives for me--"

I couldn't listen to this nonsense any more.

"Bella, Bella, stop," I ordered interrupting her hysterical rant. "Your worrying about all the wrong things, Bella. Trust me on this." If there was one person in my family she shouldn't trust, it was me. But she had to be made to understand, she had to be stopped from tormenting herself. "None of us are in jeopardy. You are under too much strain as it is; don't add to it with wholly unnecessary worry."

She looked away from me and the guilt began to seep in.

"Listen to me!" I commanded a little more forcefully than I should have, but she was just so… frustrating. It worked though.

She raised her eyes to mine.

"Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you." I spoke slowly and deliberately hoping to get the message through.

"But why should you--"

Alice stopped Bella's argument by reaching out and stroking a warm cheek. "It's been almost a century that Edward's been alone. Now he's found you. You can't see the changes that we see, we who have been with him for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?"

I won the fight. Her fear was slowly retreating back behind the wall. I rejoiced a little inside. Then I realized it was only morning. We weren't out of the woods yet… Well, _technically_ we were out of the woods, but we weren't out of the sun yet. I struggled not to smile at my little joke.

The humor disintegrated as quickly as it had come as I sat down on the couch next to Alice. I may have been able to stop Bella from feeling certain emotion, but I couldn't make her forget why she felt the emotions in the first place. She began pacing the room back and forth, back and forth, around it in one direction, around it in the other, back and forth… It was almost hypnotic. She'd pause every now and then to stare blank faced at random things, the couch upholstery, the rug, the wall paper, a lamp, the desk… after a few minutes of staring at each, she would continue her restless movements.

I began to worry about her health again. All this stress couldn't be good for her. It happened all the time with humans. Stress led to hypertension which led to heart problems… That's just what we would need. Her to drop dead of a heart attack. I certainly didn't have the control to save her for Edward should her heart try to give out. Alice was better at control but I doubted that even she could stop herself once she had a taste… I was glad when Bella gave up and went into the other room giving me a break. But the gladness disappeared when Alice followed her leaving me alone.

I didn't dare follow; I knew Alice wanted a chance to get to know her new friend without interference, but I was curious. So I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on the emotions taking place on the other side of the thin wall.

Bella's fear had crept back in without my presence. I could sense her fear in the next room if I tried too, but I couldn't control it.

"Alice?"

"Yes?" Alice was curious.

"What do you think they're doing?" Bella worried.

I couldn't believe she was still on this. Hadn't we made it clear to her?

"Carlisle wanted to lead the tracker as far north as possible, wait for him to get close, and then turn and ambush him. Esme and Rosalie were supposed to head west as long as they could keep the female behind them. If she turned around, they were to head back to Forks and keep an eye on your dad. So I imagine things are going well if they can't call. It means the tracker is close enough that they don't want him to overhear." Alice explained gently, and Bella calmed a little.

"And Esme?"

I noticed how Bella said Esme and not Rosalie and wondered just how much damage Rosalie had caused and how much more would she cause. Unlike Edward I had faith in Alice's vision, I believed that someday Bella would join us. How could she not as in love as they were? But I was worried… Would Rosalie cause too much damage to be repaired? I didn't want to imagine the contention that would arise should Rosalie not be able to deal with her problems, if she couldn't stop herself from making her problems Bella's, but I couldn't stop myself and it was a few minutes before I realized I had lost track of the conversation. I tried to catch up.

"Tell me then… how do you become a vampire." Bella's determination to get the answer surprised me.

"Alice don't you dare." I spoke softly enough so that Bella wouldn't hear. "Edward doesn't want her to know that yet. Let him explain it when he's ready." But I wondered then. Would he ever be ready to explain it? With his grim views on the lives of vampires?

"Edward doesn't want me to tell you that." Alice answered, which would have made me relax except that I could feel her disagreement.

"That's not fair. I think I have a right to know." Bella had a point but now was so not the time.

"Alice," I pleaded, "he'll be pissed."

"I know." I couldn't tell if she was answering me or Bella.

Alice was quiet a moment and then sighed. "He'll be _extremely_ angry."

"Its none of his business." Bella said although I don't know that I agreed with that. "This is between me and you, Alice, as a friend, I'm begging you."

I knew the battle was lost for me. Bella won. She may not have known it herself but there was no better wording she could have used to cut down Alice's defenses. Alice had been dying for this moment, a moment as proof of their camaraderie. Even before I felt Alice's acquiescence I knew she was going to acquiesce. How could she resist such an opportunity, the chance to prove herself as a friend to Bella? And how could she resist without knowing how to be human… she had no memories of her past life to draw from. I leaned back, groaned quietly and covered my face with my hand. I just hoped I was there when Edward found out.


	26. Clues

"Something's changed!"

Alice's declaration startled me into absolute stillness for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second. Then her panic and urgency flared at an alarming rate that had me moving toward her instantly. I flung the door open just as her hand was posed for the knob. The door banged into the wall but I ignored it with eyes only for Alice.

I could tell she wasn't quite here yet, so I reached up and put my hands on her shoulders. I carefully guided her back to the bed and gently pushed down on her. Her knees folded easily and she sat down on the edge of the mattress.

"What do you see?" I asked, refusing to remove my eyes from her face.

Bella moved closer -- it was astoundingly easy to ignore her proximity -- to hear Alice's response.

"I see a room. It's long and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room and he's waiting. There's gold… a gold stripe across the mirrors."

"Where is the room?" I asked.

"I don't know. Something is missing--" she hesitated with frustration. "Another decision hasn't been made yet."

"How much time?"

"It's soon. He'll be in the mirror room today, or even tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something." Her frown deepened. "And he's in the dark now."

I understood immediately that she had a second vision and I didn't like where this was heading. If she didn't recognize where James was hiding that meant it was somewhere she'd never been before… Somewhere not in Forks.

"What is he doing?"

"He's watching TV… no, he's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place."

"Can you see where he is?" Anywhere but Phoenix, Alice, say anywhere but Phoenix.

"No, it's too dark."

"And the mirror room, what else is there?"

"Just the mirrors and the gold. It's a band around the room. And there's a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. He's touching the VCR there but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits."

"There's nothing else?" Could she hear the tinge of desperation in my voice trying to blot out my practiced patience? I hoped not.

She shook her head and stared into my eyes. I stared right back wishing I could lift the images straight from those topaz orbs, but nothing came. I tried to digest the information I'd been given. A mirror room. Where would I find a room with mirrors… A funhouse. A changing room? Maybe a brothel. But the mirror room has a gold band and a big table with a stereo, TV, and VCR. So not a funhouse or a changing room.

"What does it mean?" Bella whispered.

I debated for a moment. Was I really sold on my brothel theory? No. It was ridiculous. But my hesitation caused Bella's fear to spike and it urged me to say something.

"It means the tracker's plans have changed. He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room and the dark room."

"But we don't know where those rooms are?"

"No."

"But we do know he won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He'll elude them." The bleak tone of Alice's voice made me angry.

_Stop asking questions,_ I wanted to yell at Bella, but I didn't. It was her life on the line and she had a right to know. Besides, the questions were all around us now, impossible to ignore and someone had to voice them. The answers would be the hardest.

"Should we call?" Bella asked, her voice cracking a little.

_Calm, calm, calm, calm…_

I looked at Alice. Now _that_ was a good question. If we called and the tracker was nearby, he would overhear. If we didn't call, the tracker could… would get away. Alice looked right back at me and I could see the same conflict raging on her face.

The phone rang and Bella flinched.

_Calm, calm, calm, calm…_

Alice flitted across the room and picked up the phone.

She stayed silent to force the caller to speak first.

"Alice, its me," Edward's angry voice announced. "Listen we've got a problem. The tracker caught on to what we were up to, he retaliated by throwing Carlisle through a couple of trees and he tried to give us the slip. We followed him to the airport before we lost him, we think he's on a plane we just don't know which one."

"Carlisle?" Alice's breath caught on the name.

I felt my body tremble with fury and couldn't stop it. That brute dared to hurt the one member of my family who would honestly consider forgiving and forgetting this infraction as long as no permanent harm had been done? In James's case, eternity just got a lot shorter.

"Carlisle's fine, not a scratch on him, he's just a little shaken. Can you do me a favor and keep this out of Bella's head? She'll just blame herself and I don't--"

Alice interrupted, "Yes." She quickly agreed.

"Thanks Alice. Can you see James?"

"I just saw him." Alice went on to explain her visions and I could hear Edward snarl in frustration when she couldn't tell him where James was headed. "Whatever made him get onto that plane… it was leading to those rooms." She finished.

Edward was quiet for a few seconds and then he asked, "Can I speak to Bella?"

"Yes," Alice answered then held the phone out. "Bella?"

Bella ran to the phone, stumbling the whole way, but I sighed in relief as I felt _her_ relief. Maybe she would calm down now.

Alice was at my side in an instant. "Jasper," she whispered. "I'm worried." She didn't need to tell me. "I keep looking but he hasn't made a decision yet. All I keep getting are those two rooms and their meaningless if I don't know where they are…" He voice trailed off.

"The rooms are not meaningless." I was lying to comfort her but suddenly my words sounded truer than I intended. I wasn't lying after all. "They exist somewhere, and that's where he is… Is he still in the dark room?"

"Yes."

"And the mirror room…" A flash of inspiration. "Alice, do you think you could draw it? Maybe if I got a look…"

But Alice was way ahead of me, back out to the sitting room. She grabbed the stationary and a pencil off the desk and sat down on the couch. She hunched over the coffee table and began to draw so fast it was hard to believe she was really trying. I sat down next to her and watched the picture take shape.

She drew a room: long, rectangular, with thinner square section at the back. The wooden planks that made up the floor stretched lengthwise across the room. Down the walls were lines denoting the breaks in the mirror. And then, wrapping around the walls, waist high, a long band. The band Alice said was gold.

So definitely not a brothel. God, I'm glad I never said that thought out loud.

I head Bella approaching but I ignored her. I leaned forward a little more as Alice filled in details, trying not to leave out anything that might turn out to be a clue. I shivered in response to the suddenly hot air touching my back… Bella had leaned over the couch to get a better look.

I felt the absence of her fear. She had traded it for curiosity and recognition. Recognition?

"It's a ballet studio," She blurted.

Alice and I turned to look at her.

Bella recognized this place? This was familiar to her? A ballet studio? There weren't any ballet studios in Forks but if this place was familiar to Bella… My stomach dropped to my feet. I chastised myself for jumping to conclusions. Confirmation first. Panic second.

"Do you know this room?" I asked casually, slowly.

"It looks like the place I used to go for dance lessons when I was eight or nine. It was shaped just the same." There weren't enough curses available in the English language. I ground my teeth as she leaned closer still, reaching out to touch the page. "That's where the bathrooms were -- the doors were through the other dance floor. But the stereo was here--" her finger traveled around the sketch as she spoke, "it was older and there wasn't a TV. There was a window in the waiting room… You would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it."

Alice and I just stared at her. She was oddly calm. Did really not see the significance in this discovery?

_Confirm first,_ I reminded myself. "Are you sure it's the same room?"

"No not at all," she shook her head absentmindedly, "I suppose most dance studios would look the same… the mirrors, the bar. It's just the shape that looks familiar."

Yes, all studios probably do have mirrors and a bar. But do all studios have the same exact layout as the next? Probably not.

"Would you have any reason to go there now?" Alice asked subtly.

"No, I haven't been there in almost ten years." Then why is he going there? "I was a terrible dancer--" Why am I not surprised. "--they always put me in back for recitals." She admitted this with a delicious looking blush.

"So there is no way it could be connected with you?" Alice wanted confirmation too.

"No I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere."

"Where was the studio you went to?" I tried to be careful. I didn't want her to panic because if she didn't realize the significance in her realization and our questions, she was about to.

"It was just around the corner from my mom's house. I used to walk there after school…" Her voice trailed off and a horrified expression consumed her face.

_Calm,_ Bella.

"Here in Phoenix then?" I didn't need confirmation any more, just an address.

"Yes," she whispered. "Fifty-eighth Street and Cactus."

We all sat in silence and stared at the drawing that had suddenly become the most ominous thing in the room. So that was it then. The tracker was here in Phoenix or he was going to be here. He was going to wait in Bella's childhood haunt. Wait for what? I tried real hard not to think about the obvious answer for that. If that was where he was going to be, then that was exactly the place Bella could not be allowed to go. And she said it herself. She had no reason to go there. However, the proximity to her mother's house was unsettling.

"Alice, is that phone safe?" Bella asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, the number would just trace back to Washington."

"Then I could use it to call my mom."

"I thought she was in Florida."

"She is, but she's coming home soon, and she can't come back to that house while…" Her voice trembled.

So she had made that connection too and didn't like it any better than I did.

"How will you reach her?"

"They don't have permanent number except at the house. She's supposed to check her messages regularly."

"Jasper?" Alice asked, caught in indecision.

I took a moment to think about it. On the one hand Bella's mother might be suspicious of a phone call and ask for more answers than we can afford to give. Or she might call Charlie and I knew from Bella's emotional state she was not ready to have that conversation yet. On the other hand if her mother bought it, it would be one less person to protect. We were stretched thin enough, and the tracker seems a little too clever to risk stretching ourselves thinner.

"I don't think there's anyway it could hurt… Be sure you don't say where you are, of course."

Bella nodded and reached for the phone. I listened to her leave her message and noticed the words she used and her feelings as she used them. It was strange dynamic. She was clearly more worried about her mother then herself, and it was herself that was in the most danger. Her words were instructions, not requests. Who speaks to their mother that way? I was curious but I didn't ask.

Bella came and sat down on the couch next to me and I flinched away from her closeness. I tried to slide away as discreetly as possible and I wrapped my arms around Alice in hopes of distracting myself from Bella's heart with my own. It helped.

Bella ate some fruit that was leftover from earlier and watched the CNN with a renewed interest. I wasn't sure what she thought she was going to see but she must not have seen it. It wasn't long before she was up on her feet again, pacing and circling and staring just as she had earlier. Alice start to sketch again, this time the dark room, but the light from the TV wasn't nearly enough to draw the details needed. Both were frustrated and worried. Bella was afraid. Alice was nervous. Between the two of them I was beginning to feel cabin fever creep in on me. I was relieved when Bella finally fell asleep and Alice carried her to the bedroom.

* * *

**Okay, I admit the description of Alice's drawing was taken straight from the book. I've never been in a ballet studion and didnt think i had the imagination to write a better description than SM already had written.**

**Secondly you might be curious about the brothel thing. I saw a documentary on the History Channel last year and learned that brothel's werent entirely uncommon during Jasper's time period. I cannot swear to the fact that they had mirrors, that part was just my imagination begging me to make a naughty refrence because even though Alice and Jasper are a married couple, SM never wrote a lemon and I've been trying to stay tru to the original Twilight Saga and avoid sexxy times.**

**Also, i have decided to bribe you. If you leave a review, i will give you a small teaser/preview for _Chapter 27: Control._**


	27. Control

I sat on the couch next to Alice, staring blankly at the TV. She was deep in concentration, her eyes as blank as mine as she watched the future, searching for anything helpful. She had been searching for hours and at her request, I was helping to fuel her concentration.

I wanted to reach out and hold her close. I wanted to tell her everything was going to be all right. I couldn't tell her that because I had never lied to Alice before and wasn't about to start now. I couldn't tell her that because I had no way to guarantee that promise. I, however much I might want to, could not see the future.

I reached out to rub her back soothingly but she hissed. I pulled my hand back in shock. Alice hissed at me? But then excitement burst through the concentration and I realized whatever made her hiss wasn't me.

"Jazz! The lights are on now!" She exclaimed.

"In the dark room you mean?" I asked for confirmation.

"Yes!"

Alice tore the drawing of the ballet studio off the pad of paper to expose a fresh sheet. She leaned down until her nose was almost touching the paper and began to draw.

"It's a house, I think. He's in a house."

I leaned forward too, so I could see around Alice.

"His house?" I asked.

"Well, its someone's house." She answered.

"There was a fireplace here," she narrated excitedly, "and its open to two rooms. But _this_is the room he's in. Here's the where the TV is… a couch here. The ceiling has got beams across it…" Her hand leapt from detail to detail and I watched with growing excitement.

I heard Bella come out of the bedroom, but I didn't look up to acknowledge her. I should have. She crept to my side and sat down next to me. Her scent assaulted my throat with every breath I took. I would never tease Edward for his perfect control again. I'd nominate him for an award if I could. His perfect control was the only thing standing between her and death.

I commanded myself to focus.

"Did she see something more?" Bella asked.

"Yes. Something's brought him back to the room with the VCR but its light now."

_Now please, please, please, stop talking to me! You smell good and I need to hunt!_

Bella leaned forward so she could see the drawing too. Her finger penetrated my gaze as it came to hover over the sketch.

"The phone goes there." She whispered.

_How in the hell did she know that?!!_

Both Alice and I turned to stare at her.

"That's my mothers house." She squeaked out.

Alice's urgency as she leapt off the couch and grabbed her phone.

My shock as Bella identified the second vision.

Then Bella's panic burst through all the walls I'd been building to contain it. Her eyes became wide and wild as she stared unblinkingly down at the unfinished portrait of her mother's sitting room. Her breath started to come faster and more shallow.

_Calm,_ Bella. Bella did not calm.

I tried again this time sending out a stronger wave. Still no change.

_You know what you have to do,_ a voice spoke in the back of my mind. Yes. I knew what to do. I just didn't want to do it.

I ground my teeth together. Tightly. _I will not fail._ I slid closer to her on the couch letting her body's heat surround me. Then, trying not to think too much about what I was about to do, I reached up and put my hand on her shoulder.

The warmth of the physical contact was like a jolt of adrenaline to my system. I was suddenly hyper aware of all the human traits I'd tried miserably to ignore upon entering this room. I was aware of the warmth, yes, but I was aware of more than that. The blood sloshing through her veins, little rivers of crimson. _I will not fail._ The heart diligently thumping in her chest and how it seemed to be taunting me -- _take-her, take-her, take-her _-- with it's every beat. _I will not fail._The breakability of her body in general, how easy it would be to take her in my arms and squeeze until her bones cracked, how easily my teeth could slide into the delicate skin concealing the purple veins that carried the most succulent… _THAT'S ENOUGH!_

I swallowed back the venom. _I will not fail._

_Calm,_ Bella, _calm, calm, calm…_ Bella panic faded. While this closeness was torture for me it was a cause of comfort for her. I tried to console myself with that fact. She was comforted. I comforted her. I had not failed.

"Bella," Alice called, hanging up the phone.

Bella looked up at Alice to show that she had heard, but didn't answer. I doubted she _could _answer.

"Bella, Edward is coming to get you. He and Emmett and Carlisle are going to take you somewhere to hide you for a while."

"Edward is coming?"

The question was asked in a confused tone, but I could feel the desperation as she clutched at the words. I wished Edward had asked to speak to her. It would reassure her, make my job easier. But at least he was coming. Comforting her would be his job soon enough. I could outlast the temptation. I had to.

"Yes, he's catching the first flight out of Seattle." Alice spoke slowly trying to help soothe. "We'll meet him at the airport and you'll leave with him." Her attempt to soothe failed.

Bella's panic rose up again. "But, my mother…" The air hitched in her throat but she managed to push on, "… he came here for my mother Alice!"

_Calm._

"Jasper and I will stay until she's safe."

What came out of her mouth next surprised me enough that I forgot to utilize my ability.

"I can't win Alice. You can't guard everyone I know forever. Don't you see what he's doing? He's not tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love… Alice I can't--"

Alice interrupted her hysterical tirade. "We'll catch him Bella."

"And what if you get hurt, Alice? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think its only my human family he can hurt me with?"

Alice glared at me bringing me back to the moment. I could tell from the look that she was hoping for something a bit more than calmness. I let fatigue flow to Bella and I felt her respond. I laid it on a little heavier and her eyes closed. A little more--

"I don't want to go back to sleep!" Bella snapped, swatting my hand away and leaping to her feet.

She glared angrily down at me, spared another glare for Alice, before walking away. She wound up alone in the bedroom. Alice didn't follow her. I didn't attempt to sense her. I didn't want to feel the emotions she would be feeling now. Not when she wasn't allowing me to help her with those feelings. Maybe its cruel, but I didn't want to suffer with her.

In the silence she left behind… It gave me time to think over her most recent outburst of irrationality.

_"I can't win Alice."_ True. Bella couldn't win against one of us. Not by herself and although we were more than willing to help her in this area, she was right in another area as well.

_"You can't guard everyone I know forever."_ Bella was right. We could not guard her loved ones forever. For starters, we were already stretched thin, just watching Charlie and Renee and Bella. What if he targeted someone else? We'd need to have guards on the humans threatened and we'd need to have a hunting party. The guards would have to be switched out when they needed to feed. The hunting party would need to feed as well…probably not as soon as the guards but still… Secondly, we couldn't guard her family forever because they wouldn't live that long. And that was interesting. Bella _could_ live that long. If she wanted. And if she chose to, there aren't many vampires who would want to track her. What would be the point? They couldn't feed from her once she was immortal. Just killing her would be more trouble than it was worth to any sane creature considering the strength of the coven surrounding her.

Maybe it was a good thing that Alice had discussed the mechanics of conversions with her. Bella had a great deal of trust in those she cared about. If Alice said a few choice words… If I played the right emotions… Bella would make the choice, if she hadn't already, that would effectively end this hunt. The big problem would be Edward and his inane quest to be noble. Even so, I wonder if I can't use my gift to help with that too?

"Jazz?" Alice whispered beside me.

I turned to look at her.

"It has to be her choice." She stared at me with understanding in her eyes.

I could guess what she saw. Alice was right. As usual. If we persuaded _her_ to do this… Not that I didn't love her, but one Rosalie was all I could handle.

_"Don't you see what he's doing? He's not tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love… Alice I can't--" _Was it merely coincidence that James's methods were getting to Bella? Or did Edward miss something? Did James have a gift? It was strange that he knew exactly what buttons on Bella's personality to push. Bella had no concern for her own welfare. The welfare of her family, her friends… That was another story. I'm a veteran from the Civil War. The human one. The vampire one. I know all about martyrs. Dying for ones convictions. Bella's conviction was clearly her heart. She believed in taking care of the ones you loved, keeping them safe. She would die to keep them safe.

The real question was: Would she have to?

No. I would not let that come to pass. For Edward's sake. For Alice's sake. For mine. For Esme. For Carlisle. For Charlie and Renee. Most of all, for Bella. If she wouldn't protect herself… Well, I guess as her new brother, I'd look after her… and try not to kill her myself in the process.

_"And what if you get hurt, Alice? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think its only my human family he can hurt me with?"_ That was something to think about too. Bella considered us her family? She loved us too? I was surprised at how quickly she had won her way into our hearts but it wasn't unfathomable. After everything she'd done for Edward, of course we could love her. But she had known us such a short time. As a human she shouldn't even be comfortable in our presence… The mere fact that she could kiss my brother without hyperventilating was a miracle. But loving the rest of us? Yes, I was definitely going to have to get better at balancing not killing her with keeping her safe.

"Alice?" I whispered.

"Jasper?" She whispered back.

"I'm worried." About so many things.

"Me too." She agreed.

I was quiet for a moment, thinking strategy. "When does their plane land?"

"Nine forty five."

I took a deep breath and pushed away the worry. "If we are in charge of keeping Bella's mother safe we should find somewhere closer to her house." I got to my feet. "I'm going to check out while its still dark."

She nodded in agreement. "There is a house across the street from Bella's. The couple that lives there is on vacation. We'll stay there."

I nodded in agreement.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'd like to announce a couple of things.**

**1) I have created a Twilight Fanfic blog, where I will be posting:**

**- teasers, fanfic updates, and ideas for upcoming projects for my stories**

**- fanfic reviews/recomendations**

**- other fanfic related news that I think might be of interest.**

**So Follow me for updates at** http://equivampsnotebook(dot)blogspot(dot)com/

**2) Because this is a finished fanfiction, that was originally posted on another site, I have decided not to post teasers for this story on my blog. Updates yes, teasers no. That being said, there is no need to feel cheated because I will provide a teaser for you when you review.**

**Coming next: Bella makes her escape. (_I know you've all been waiting to see Jasper's response to that_)**


	28. Gone

_That's how human should react to our presence, _I thought to myself remembering how the night clerk had cringed at the sight of me. How she backed away from the counter when I walked up to it. How her eyes flicked nervously to her purse… probably considering unleashing the pepper spray I could smell inside it. I briefly wondered if pepper spray would have any effect on me… Probably not. My eyes were as well protected as my hide.

I dragged my feet up the stairs slowly, relishing the fresh air before I threw myself back into that room. I stood outside the door and I could feel it. The fear and concern were something I expected. With me gone, Bella's emotions were sure to come back. The despair and grief was new. Something was wrong.

I flung the door open to see Bella trying to pry Alice's fingers off of the coffee table. Alice was clearly having a vision, but what disturbed me was the fact that the grief, the despair, they were _hers_ and not Bella's.

"Alice!" I moved to her side, replacing Bella's hands with my own, "What is it?"

She turned her face into my chest, and reflexively I put my arms around her to keep her there, to comfort her.

"Bella." She moaned with anguish.

I was shot through with a sense of dread. Had she answered my question?

"I'm right here," Bella responded.

Alice's head twisted around to look at Bella. I felt a flicker of realization in Bella but it was replaced with curiosity.

"What did you see?" She demanded harshly.

I shot her an annoyed glare to tell her to give Alice a minute, but I was startled by Bella's blank expression. She had so many emotions. Fear. Curiosity. Acceptance. Determination. But they weren't powerful. It was like her emotions were fading out of existence. Alice's expression was blank too. Her emotions were stronger. Fear. Grief. Despair. Anger. Determination. I looked between the two. The climate was chaotic and I had know idea why.

I let a wave a tranquility touch them both. I needed them to be calm as much as they needed to be calm. Alice and Bella both kept their faces blank as they looked at each other. They were both hiding something from the other. I hate being out of the loop.

"Nothing, really," Alice answered, guiltily, desperately. "Just the same room as before. Do you want breakfast?"

"No, I'll eat at the airport." Bella responded with understanding and calm. Calm? What did she understand?

Alice waited until Bella was in the shower before allowing her emotions to bubble up to the surface. She pulled me close and began sobbing.

"Alice, what happens? What happens?" I begged her to tell me, holding her closer.

"I don't know Jazz, but she's there with him, she's there with him in the ballet studio." Her frame shook against me.

I let out a quiet snarl. "No, Alice, no. That can't happen."

"I know, but it does. I've seen it. I see her, I see her…"

_Calm,_ Alice.

She pulled a steadying breath and sat up. She looked me right in the eyes and said, "I see her on the floor, surrounded by broken glass, and she lying crumpled and still… I think she's dead, Jasper, she's so still…"

"You said she's there with him, what's he doing?" I was grasping at straws now.

"He's laughing at her, he, he--"

"He what, Alice?"

"He wipes blood off of his lips," She whispered now, "He walks away, to the stereo and takes something off the top of it…"

"What is it Alice, what does he take?"

She was silent as she dove back into her vision. He face puckered in frustration. "I don't know. Its too small and he's in the way."

"What does he do next?"

"He leaves. He just leaves her there." Her voice broke and she began to tremble.

I pulled Alice back to me and worked on comforting her.

"Jasper, it's gone. The future, with Bella as a vampire, that's gone. Something happened and now she going to…"

"Shhh…" I whispered in her ear.

One.

Two.

Three.

That's how long I allowed myself and Alice to sit in each other's arms, horrorstruck. Three seconds. I straightened my spine and released Alice. When Bella came out of hiding she would not find us stuck in the throes of grief. There was no need to grieve. She wasn't dead yet. I was going to make damn sure that wouldn't happen. No mistakes. Alice's visions are subjective. Maybe they'll change again. One thing was both positive and unspoken. Neither of us were letting Bella out of sight when we left the motel.

As we drove to the airport neither Alice nor I could keep our eyes away from Bella for very long. She was sitting there, staring straight ahead, her anxiety and fear pulsating beneath artificial calm I was trying to create for her. When she finally spoke it was to Alice. She asked about Alice's visions, what she sees and why. Both were hopeful when they talked about how the future changes with each decision.

Alice's hope was easy enough to understand but it was Bella's that caught my attention. I could only think of one possibility for her hope at the subject being discussed. Bella wasn't stupid. Had she guessed at what Alice had seen? Did she know that her time was running out? I shook my head at the thought.

Now, driving to the airport in an effort to circumvent the future, I was once again aware of how very human Bella was, but this time for different reasons. She was trusting and loving. She put her trust in a family of vampire to keep her safe. We were going to fail. She gave her love to Edward and carried his in return. They were going to lose each other. Her body was breakable. It was going to be broken. Her life was fleeting. It was going to flee.

No. It couldn't. There had to be away. Her death would result in too many negative consequences. She had to be saved. But _how_ was the question. If there was a way to change events foreseen, it lay in some unmade decision, a choice yet to be chosen. But which one? If Alice knew she would have mentioned it by now.

Maybe what we were doing was wrong. Maybe we shouldn't be playing defense, hiding and running. Maybe be we could go after him and just get it over with. Alice knew where he was going to be. Or maybe we could use Bella as bait. He wants her so badly, make him come to us.

"We'll talk strategy when Edward and Carlisle get here," Alice whispered below Bella's hearing range.

Of course she would be watching the future shift. But I hadn't made a true decision yet, nor would I without Edward. He had a right to be involved. But if she could see me changing strategies, she should have gotten faint glimmers of the outcomes, shouldn't she have? I glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead. She didn't look over at me until my eyes were back on the road.

When we got to the airport we followed Bella's lead. She felt a little bit of smugness at being in charge for once. It was amusing, that she took pleasure out of being smarter than vampires, but it was a relief too. She hadn't felt anything besides panic and concern and anxiety for, well, too long. But the smugness was only temporary. The longer we were there the more her anxiety grew. It was beginning to wear on me. I created her calm but she was giving me her anxiety. I could feel it in my legs, the need to get up and run or stretch or pace, anything that might give my body release from the emotions tormenting my physicality.

"My letter." Bella said suddenly and put an unmarked envelope on Alice's bag.

Alice nodded and tucked it away while I looked on curiously "To her mother," Alice mouthed silently and I nodded. I felt a pang of sadness and realized it was my own. Would that letter reveal to Renee her daughter's final words of love, the last contact the two would have? Then I was morbidly curious. If Bella knew about Alice's vision as I suspected she did, what would the letter contain? A goodbye? Or would she have filled it with happy thoughts to keep her mother happy for as long as possible, at least until the body was found.

I cringed.

_The body._

Bella's body would not have to be found nor her spirit mourned. Edward would be here in… I glanced up at the arrival time… Thirty minutes. He would come, he and Carlisle would take her away from here, away from the ballet studio where Bella would not be killed, and then I don't care what Alice says. I join the hunt.

"I think I'll eat now," Bella told us quietly.

She got to her feet. If she thought we letting her wander off alone she was out of her mind.

"I'll come with you," declared Alice getting to her feet too.

"Do you mind if Jasper comes instead?" I felt my eyes widen in surprise. "I'm feeling a little…" Bella didn't finish but she didn't need to. Her eyes were wide and wheeling wildly around the terminal like she was expecting to see James lurking nearby. Not to mention the anxiety I could feel, still intensifying beneath my barriers which would be rendered useless when she left my side.

I got up. I nodded reassuringly at Alice. Nobody was going to get to Bella while I was with her and Edward would be here soon. I could resist for the next thirty minutes.

Again Bella lead, while I walked silently behind her. I put my hand on the small of her back, trying to strengthen my ability with physical contact again. I was relieved that my second try wasn't as difficult as my first. It wasn't easy, but I was prepared for the onslaught of sensations this time.

Twenty three minutes.

"Do you mind?" Bella asked, gesturing toward the ladies' room. "I'll just need a moment."

"I'll be right here," I promised her.

I waited patiently and focused my hearing on the babble of voices around me to give Bella and whoever else was in there privacy. Just because I _could_ hear everything if I wanted to, didn't mean I shouldn't try not to.

Eighteen minutes.

If she was planning on eating she better hurry it up.

"Jasper!"

I twisted around.

Alice was standing ten feet away speechless and horrified. Her eyes flicked between me and the bathroom. I felt my mouth pop open. No. Alice couldn't mean…

"No!" I couldn't believe it.

I walked as fast as I could without arousing suspicion, right into the restroom… Then I followed Bella's trail right out of it. She left alone and of her own free will. I followed the scent to the elevators, took the stairwell down, and re-picked her scent up at level one. I followed the trail until I was forced off it by the glass doors that led out into the brilliant sunlight.

"She's gone Jazz," I heard Alice whisper behind me.

No. She couldn't be. But she is. I knew she was. She ran. By herself. She ran away. She was gone. Alone. In danger. Dead. No. Not dead. There was a way. There had to be a way. Why did she run?

I didn't see this one coming. We didn't fail to protect her. She refused to be protected by us. No. We didn't fail to protect her, I did. I failed to protect her. I failed. I failed. She was gone and it was my fault. I lost her. I let her go. I failed her. I failed.

Nine minutes.

* * *

**Sorry, it's a little late, FF won't let me upload. Big thanks to belladonnacullen for suggesting pasting the chapter to an exsising upload. You should read her story The Necklace. It is out of this world... literally.**

**I know the pepper spray thing was a little odd but it always bugged me that the movie had pepperspray and vampires but the book never did.**

**Remember, reviewers get teasers! *hint hint***


	29. Monsters

Traveling at human speed we managed to make it back to the terminal just as the passengers were getting off the plane. Alice and I were both silent as we waited. I ignored her guilt, I was too absorbed in my own. I promised to keep Bella safe and I failed. How long before Edward found out? Would he want to kill me? Would I let him?

Then I saw them. Carlisle, Edward and Emmett. Cutting through the crowd with purpose. Edward was practically on tiptoe trying to catch a glimpse of the face he loved, his own face drawn with worry and anticipation. I wondered again how long it would take him to realize I had failed to protect the thing he valued more than his own life.

It didn't take him long. The three of them stood three feet away now. He took a glance at my face, then Alice's, and was suddenly horrified. His mouth dropped open as his eyes kept flicking back and forth between our guilty faces.

"Well," said Emmett, "Where is she?"

Like a flip of a switch the horror shut off to be replaced with rage. A snarl bubbled out of his chest and sounded throughout the terminal. People stopped in surprise and fear and curiosity, looking for the beast that had made such a feral noise, but saw nothing but what they thought was five beautiful humans having an unhappy reunion.

"Edward!" Carlisle hissed a warning as Edward trembled.

"I lost her," I answered Emmett, hating myself as I said the words aloud for the first time.

"I know where she's going, Edward," Alice told him.

He spun on his heel and Emmett grabbed him from behind.

"You'll give us away!" Emmett whispered. "Human speed, Edward. Even if the humans don't see you, the security cameras are sure to pick up something!"

Carlisle didn't ask questions. He had heard enough. He led the way to the parking garage while Emmett continued to restrain Edward. Alice skipped off to find us a car to hotwire and I trailed behind my family like an apologetic puppy.

We heard the squeal of tires as Alice pealed out and appeared before us in a black Mustang. Emmett got up front with Alice while the three of us crammed ourselves into the backseat.

"What happened?" Carlisle demanded once we were in motion.

"I don't know," I moaned. "She said she needed to use the ladies room and I let her go. She never came out so I went in and she had gone out a second exit. She gave me the slip."

"How do you lose a human Jazz?!" Emmett snapped at me.

"It's not his fault!" Alice barked from the front seat. "I'm the psychic! I should have seen-"

"Well, you didn't!" Edward shouted, but there was no rage in him now. Just pure desperation.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is!" Carlisle interrupted. "It is what it is, let's focus on getting her back! Alice, will we make it in time?"

"I don't know," she admitted as the car darted forward as she hit the last gear it had to give.

Edward moaned. "He's going to torture her?" He asked his voice breaking.

Emmett snarled.

"That might actually by us time," Alice informed him, "I keep seeing the vision alternate. In one he drinks her."

Carlisle growled this time. It was one of the most frightening thing I'd ever heard. Not the growl itself, but the fact that it was Carlisle who unleashed it.

"And the other?" Emmett pushed.

"We get there in time stop him from killing her…" she whispered and Edward moaned again.

"He turns her by mistake," Edward whispered.

I couldn't look at him. I couldn't bear to see the pain that was on his face. His love was being tortured. She was either going to die, which would kill him too, or she was going to wind up one of us, eternally thirsty. Immortal was better than dead, in _my_ opinion. But I wasn't sure if Edward shared that opinion.

"I don't want her dead!" He roared at me.

_I never for a minute thought you did,_ I thought to him. _Edward, I am so sorry. I screwed up. This is my fault. I shouldn't have let her go alone. I know I can never be forgiven but I will do whatever I can to save her life for you._

He made no answered. His fear and desperation were suffocating.

"Why did she run?" Carlisle asked of no one in particular in his frustration.

Then a thought hit me. "Alice! The letter!"

"Of course!" She gasped. "Emmett hand me my bag!"

"Letter? What letter?" Carlisle asked.

Emmett grabbed Alice's bag off the floor by his feet and handed it to her; she ripped it open, the contents tumbling everywhere and the envelop fluttered to her lap. Edward's hand flashed out and he removed it before she could pick it up and hand it over. He opened the note and as his eyes scanned the paper, the anger returned. He handed it off to Carlisle.

"Well, that answers that," Edward said quietly.

"What?" Emmett and I asked at the same time.

"It looks like the tracker has taken Bella's mother. I'm guessing Bella is hoping to trade her life for Renee's." Carlisle explained.

"That's bull! He won't trade anything…" Emmett trailed off, realizing that he was stating something we already knew.

James couldn't let Bella's mother live through this. Firstly, he was an evil, sadistic, monster. Secondly, she had seen too much. He would want to cover his tracks.

"Why wouldn't she tell us? We could have figured something out. I could have-"

"There is nothing Bella values more than the lives of her loved ones," I whispered, seeing the answer immediately. "She'd rather lose herself than you."

"I wouldn't have been hurt…" He whimpered.

"Maybe not…" _But you weren't in that hotel room with us, Edward. You didn't hear her, __**feel**__ her. The whole time all she did was worry. I could barely control it. I was worried that she was going to give herself a heart attack or have a mental break down. She was so frightened. For you, for us, but never for herself._

Then I showed him.

_The drive down to Phoenix, the terror was clawing at her, I could feel it as she felt it and it was almost physically painful. Maybe that's why she started to cry again. So I sent out wave of calm, as often as I could, as strong as I could, but even so I could still feel it there fighting to get free. So I focused my energies on that; defeating her fear. _

_Later in the hotel room when she realized Carlisle hadn't contacted us yet. Her fear pushing through the wall I was building to contain it as she squeaked, "What does that mean? That he hasn't called yet?" _

_And after that when I realized she wasn't frightened for herself… _

_"Then why are you frightened?" _

_"__You heard what Laurent said. He said James was lethal. What if something goes wrong, what if they get separated? If something happens to any of them, Carlisle, Emmett… Edward… If that wild female hurts Esme… How could I live with myself if it's my fault? None of you should be risking your lives for me--" _

_When we found out the tracker was coming to Phoenix, all she could think about was her mom. _

_"I thought she was in Florida." _

_"She is, but she's coming home soon, and she can't come back to that house while…"_

"I've seen enough, Jasper, let's just get there." Edward murmured.

"We're there," Alice declared slamming on the breaks.

We got out of the car and suddenly Edward was gone. We followed.

Edward let out a roar and we saw James release Bella's hand from his mouth and turn to defend himself. Caught off guard, he didn't have chance. He was flung across the room and smashed into the mirrors. Edward crouched down beside Bella and James prepared to spring at his unprotected back.

That's when I smelled it.

A scent that was rich and sweet.

Mouth watering.

Intoxicating.

Exquisite.

I would have it.

I flung myself at James without a second thought. He couldn't have her. I wanted her. The monster broke free of his bonds and once unfettered there was nothing to be done. He took me over completely. James turned his back to Edward to face the greater danger. Me.

I was vaguely aware that Emmett had stepped in to try to help me but I didn't care. I had my target, my enemy, my competition. James. If Emmett tried to contest my right to ownership of the prey he would be easy enough to dispose of too. His fighting skills were good, but not sophisticated.

James sidestepped and twirled and kicked out at my chest. I dodged the kick and grabbed his leg, seeing nothing but his death on the very near horizon. I threw him further back, further away from the bleeding human destined to be mine. I knew her blood was pooling beneath her while I fought. I had to make this kill quickly before she drained, leaving me without a prize.

I flew at him as he got to his feet, forcing him back again, through the doors into the adjoining dance floor. James threw an arm up to defend his throat and I sunk my teeth into it without question. His other arm moved to seek purchase against me and I grabbed it in my hand. I placed a foot in the center of his chest and I shoved backwards; his arm came loose in my jaws. He let out a howl of pain but the sound fell on deaf ears.

He was weakened but not by much. We twirled in our dance of death again and again, his movements more cautious as he tried to compensate for his disability. He didn't compensate well.

Emmett charged James's weakened side like a vampire battering ram and I fell on the good arm. I twisted it and bent it behind him. My free hand grabbed his head and shoved it forward, exposing the neck to my teeth that were dripping with venom. His head came off in my hand and his body fell and twitched on the floor, like the severed leg of an insect. I set to work dismembering the rest of the creature and Emmett slipped off. He reappeared a moment later with what I could smell was gasoline and began pouring it on the pile of pieces I was creating. Then he splashed what was left of it around the floor.

I left him to his job and left to the other room. I hissed in surprise. She was gone. I inhaled deeply. I could track her down. No way I'd lose the scent with her bleeding so openly. I smelled the smoke but ignored it. If Emmett got out, he got out. He didn't matter. She did.

I followed the trail to the door but was struck from behind. The force pushed me out into the sunlight. I was foolish. Of course Emmett would want her too. Of course he would fight me for it. I realized my mistake too late, his arms and legs were wrapped tightly around me, pinning me to the ground. I thrashed in his arm but he had an advantage now. Brute strength.

I waited for the killing blow that never came.

"I want her too, but we can't," He hissed at me.

I could feel his desire warring with his resolve, and his desire merely fueled mine. Screw his resolve.

"She belongs to Edward," he continued to talk.

Like hell she did. She belonged to me.

"She's our sister now. We'd hate ourselves if we gave in."

_We_? There is no we. I won't share.

"Breathe, Jasper, the fresh air helps!" A high pitched voice spoke.

It was a beautiful voice. High pitched with worry but still softly melodic, like an angel's harp. It was the only voice I would ever obey at a time like this. The only voice the could bend my demon to her own will.

I breathed.

The haze cleared a little.

"Jasper, keep breathing, smell the fresh air? Jasper come back to us, Edward needs us, Bella needs us, would you fail them?"

Edward. I took a breath and had a memory of my brother. Drenched in desperation. Why was that again?

Bella. Another breath and another memory. This of a small frightened girl in a stuffy hotel room. Right. Edward's mate.

"Jasper, I need you!" My angel spoke softly. "Would you fail me?"

Alice. My Alice. She was calling to me. She needed me.

With another breath the haze disappeared completely. Of one thing I was absolutely certain of in this moment. I would not fail Alice. In failing Alice, I fail myself.

Then I remembered it all and the crushing self loathing and despair hit.

What.

Had.

I.

Done.

I sobbed openly in Emmett's steel embrace. I tried to kill Bella. A prize, I had called her. My prey, I had called her. She was my family. I wanted to eat her. I wanted it so badly. What have I done?

Emmett surrendered me to Alice's embrace.

"Its okay Jasper," She crooned, running her fingers through my hair, over my face, down my back, trying to soothe me with her touch. "It's over and we are okay. Bella will live, you didn't hurt her, you helped save her. Everything's okay. It's all okay. Okay?"

I relaxed, letting her calm me.

"We still have work to do," she whispered.

I looked at her face for the first time, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Bella was hurt pretty badly," she continued, "We need to create a scene. Do you understand?"

I nodded and got to my feet.

There was still work to be done and fast.

* * *

**We are coming down to the wire, one chapter and then an epilogue coming up.**

**I hope you enjoyed Jasper's take one the ballet studio.**

**Drop a review!**


	30. The Cover Up

"Here, put these on!" Alice said when Emmett and I met her at the curb in our newly stolen vehicle.

She thrust a couple of large hooded sweatshirts at us, and held onto a third for herself. After we had pulled them on she handed us sunglasses and black isotoners.

"Let's go!" She waved a hand at us as Emmett and I exchanged a glance.

I stepped on the gas as we cut through some quiet residential streets on our way back to the motel.

Emmett cleared his throat. "Um, Ally, where did you get these…?"

"Thrift Shop." She answered.

I glanced at her in the rear view mirror.

She caught my eye and giggled. "You think I'm good _now_? Check this out." She reached a hand inside the front pocket and pulled out a couple of plastic bags… Plastic bags that were filled with blood. I could see the label on the front. AB.

"Alice! Is that… _human?_" I asked, struggling to keep my jaw from hanging.

"Yup!" She said, feeling quite pleased with herself.

Emmett laughed. "I bet the Red Cross isn't aware of this donation!"

She laughed too and shot him a look of exaggerated innocence.

"Alice, what's it for?" I asked to keep my mind off the fact that my wife was holding bags of human blood in her lap.

"Isn't it obvious? We have to make the accident look realistic. She lost a lot of blood Jazz…" She raised a disbelieving eyebrow and slid the packets back into her sweatshirt. "Its even her blood type." She added feeling even more pleased with herself.

Part of me was dying to ask where and how she acquired human blood so fast, but the wiser part of me was telling me not to ask. I might be better off not knowing. I exchanged a glance with Emmett and I was sure he and I were thinking the same thing.

As if Alice could hear our thoughts she added, "I just like to be prepared for every eventuality…"

"I so don't want to know, Alice," Emmett said with an uneasy chuckle.

When we got there we pulled our hoods up over our faces and slid into our secondhand gloves and glasses to hid ourselves from the late day sun. We followed Alice silently, awaiting our orders and trusting that she saw our mission going smoothly without a human interruption.

Personally, I thought we looked ridiculous. I, more than anyone, understood the importance of keeping ourselves hidden from the sun and humans, but as I looked at Emmett and Alice I couldn't stop myself from trying to pinpoint the familiarity of this. The it hit me. We looked like we had just fallen out of some kind of gang movie. We looked like thugs.

"Hey, Jasper?" Emmett called my name as we stopped climbing the stairs and stood looking out at the parking lot.

"Yes?"

"You wanna knock off a liquor store after this?" I threw my head back and laughed.

"Shhhh!" Alice scolded.

"Alright," she said, once she had our undivided attention. "The story we are supposed to sell is that Bella fell down two flights of stairs and through a window. Any questions?"

"Nope." Emmett said popping the "p."

"Good, Jasper, push me." She demanded.

What? Was she serious?

She was still staring at me. Staring at me expectantly.

"Well?" She nodded her head as if to say "go ahead."

Was she out of her mind?

"Alice, I'm not going to push you down the stairs."

"Jasper, don't screw this up. You know I wont get hurt. Just give me a shove."

I put up my hands and moved them towards her but stopped about an inch away from her stomach. I just couldn't do it. I knew Alice couldn't get hurt from a tumble down the stairs but still… Pushing her… I could never commit an act of violence against my love.

She growled in frustration. "Emmett?" She snapped.

"Yes!" He whooped and his foot came up and collided with the small of her back.

_How dare he?!_ The snarl tore up from my chest as a flash of red clouded my eyes. I grabbed Emmett by the neck and, with a roar, I threw him.

"Argh!" He shouted out in surprise.

Emmett's body writhed through the air as he flew over the hot asphalt in a graceful arc. His body collided with the ground with a loud crack, while his head smashed into the bumper of an Oldsmobile.

"Alice!" I shouted as she rolled, bounced, and tumbled down the stairs. She got to the landing and used her feet against the wall to propel herself down the next set. I moved down to the landing and watched her continue to the bottom. She leapt to her feet, staggered theatrically, and flung herself backwards through the window of a vacant room. I drifted downwards to peer in the broken window to see her shaking with silent giggles. She was getting way to much pleasure out of this.

"Hold your breath, Jazz," Alice commanded taking out the blood bags.

I immediately cut off the flow of oxygen to my lungs and watched as she did the same. Then she ripped open the packets and poured them about the floor. When she was finished she bent down, scooped up a handful of broken glass and pocketed it.

"What's the glass for?" I whispered with what little air remained in my lungs.

"She had a lot of glass stuck in her. How would it look to have an entire windowfull of glass lying about when she clearly sustained injuries from it? Jasper, step to the left now!"

I stepped to the left, feeling her urgency.

Emmett flew by me and sailed through the open window.

"Good!" She said happily. "Now it looks like there was a struggle. One would assume if a human fell down two flights of stairs and through a window and survived, they would struggle, right?"

Without waiting for an answer she slipped daintily out to join me and turned to face the stairs to admire her handy work. I hated to say it but she did a good job. Several of the railing posts were cracked or dented from where her body had struck them and the railing above that, the one belonging to where she began her descent, was tilting slightly outward. I smiled at her job well done.

"Not cool, Alice," Emmett grumbled climbing through the window.

I frowned. "You were going to attack me."

"You _did_ attack me! You threw me across the parking lot!" He retorted.

"You pushed my wife down a flight of stairs, what exactly did you expect?" I snarled at the memory.

"_She. Asked. Me._ Jerk. How will we explain _that_?" Emmett asked pointing to the car his head had dented.

"We won't," said Alice. "We will leave and the owner will assume it was a hit and run. Insurance will cover it. Let's go."

* * *

"How is she?" I asked Carlisle when we got to the hospital.

"She'll be okay, unconscious for awhile and she'll need help getting around once she's discharged, but there is no reason Bella won't make a full recovery." Carlisle stared at me and his concern intensified. "How are you?"

I tore my eyes from his gaze and looked down at my feet.

"I'm okay," I muttered.

He gave a humorless chuckle. "Good. Now, how are you _really_?"

"Ashamed. And thirsty." I told him honestly. "I shouldn't be here except Alice said it'd be okay and she wanted to get the tape…"

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Jasper. You helped save Bella's life. That's a good thing, son."

"And what about after? When I wanted to take her life? What about before? If I hadn't lost her, her life wouldn't have needed saving to begin with."

"Is that how you see it?" Carlisle murmured.

I flinched at his understanding.

"Jasper, today you used skills that you wish you had never learned, to protect your family. There is honor in that, not shame. As for losing her, I understand why you feel guilty, but you shouldn't. I'm starting to get the feeling that Isabella Swan is quite the unique individual. She wanted to go. She would have found away around you even if you went in with her. And Jasper? You didn't kill her. You wanted to, but you didn't. She's alive and she'll make a full recovery. I'm proud of you."

I could feel that. His pride. I finally looked up at him.

"Would you like to see her?"

"No." I didn't have to think that one through. "I'm too thirsty. If I smell her scent so soon after smelling her blood… No. I'm getting the recording for Alice, taking a hunting trip, going back to Forks, probably taking another hunting trip…"

Carlisle chuckled. "Where is Alice?"

"Talking to Bella's mother." Carlisle nodded, reached down into his coat pocket and pulled out the small camera.

"Its hard to watch," he said quietly as I took it from him.

This surprise me.

"You've seen it?"

"I caught a little when Edward watched it."

I felt his disbelief and knew it was because he couldn't believe Edward would want to watch that. But I understood Edward's motives. He didn't want to watch the video. He needed to. It was self-flagellation. He blamed himself and he was burning the sights and sounds of his mistakes' consequences into his brain to make sure it never happened again. It was the same reason I was going to watch it with Alice while she tried to learn more about herself.

Mistakes had been made.

They couldn't be corrected.

They wouldn't be repeated.

* * *

**I figured we had had more than enough angst for awhile, so I made the fabrication of evidence slightly humorous for you.**

**I'd like to point out two things about The Cover Up, that I have previously been questioned on.**

**_1) Wouldn't Jasper and Emmett smell the blood Alice was hiding?_ In my opinion, I dont think so. Those bags are air tight to ensure freshness.**

**2) _Am I aware that Bella's blood type is O negative according to Breaking Dawn?_ I am aware now, but I wrote this chapter before I read Breaking Dawn and to save my artistic integrity I decided not to change my original idea even though it is a minor detail.**

**Also, I have posted this chapter a day early, because I am anxious to have this completed for you (the Epilogue will be posted next), and because I wanted to assure you that this is not the end of Jasper. That's right. I've got an unhealthy Jasper addiction and have decided to post a sequal. **

**For more information on that and the filler project that I will be working on until Jaspers New Moon is available for posting, you should FOLLOW my blog (http)://equivampsnotebook(dot)blogspot(dot)com (A link is available on my profile)**


	31. Epilogue

The recording had been disturbing. Bella's screams were etched into my brain, the sight of her being tortured burned into my lids. I have to admit, I was a little proud of her in a way… He was torturing her and all she could think about was protecting Edward.

Alice was troubled by the movie and I knew her distress was caused by more than the abuse Bella had been forced to endure. It was the information relating to her past that had caused her the most damage.

_"It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me…" James had spoke slowly, casually, completely indifferent to the terror on Bella's face as she realized the slow death that was coming for her. _

_"When the old one realized I was after his little friend he stole her from the asylum where he worked… She didn't even seem to notice the pain… She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and shock treatments… I destroyed the old one in vengeance…" _

_"Alice," Bella whispered, the terror slipping from her face to be replaced with surprise at the revelation and acceptance at her situation. _

_"Yes, your little friend…" He confirmed. "I get you but they get her. The one victim who escaped me… I still regret that I never got a taste…"_

So that's what happened in Alice's mysterious past.

It saddened and unnerved her. It infuriated me.

She had had visions as a human and her parents had her locked up.

_"Shock treatments."_

Did they know? How could they not… How could they put her in that place knowing what would happen to her?

_"Black hole of a cell…"_

Those people tried to fry the visions from her brain and then proceeded to lock her up. They tortured her and then they shut her away from the light… They didn't understand so they tried to destroy. This new knowledge had me itching to hunt down her tormentors if they were still among the living and hunt down their descendents if they weren't. I would never, of course not, but the idea was tempting…

When a vampire is made, their body changes but their personality remains the same. That should be true for Alice as well. The thought that anyone could be so cruel as to ignore the miracles that made up Alice -- the bubbly laughter, her never-ending good cheer, her ability to love (an ability that transformed me from monster to man), the light that shined constantly from those eyes, and yes, even the visions -- was horrifying to me.

_"When the old one realized I was after his little friend he stole her… I destroyed the old one in vengeance…"_

Whoever the "old one" was, I would forever be grateful to him. I would be grateful for his kindness to her, when she was captive in a world that treated her so cruelly, I would be grateful that he had had the courage to steal her away from that awful place and save her life. If it wasn't for his actions I wouldn't have her now and that thought was unacceptable. It did raise questions though. Who was he, this vampire that worked in an asylum? Could he have been a vegetarian vampire too? Or merely just looking for a way to not spend his life alone? And whoever he was, who was Alice to him?

The unanswered questions and his punishment for his kindness made me hate James even more and I had never been so happy in the aftermath of taking a life as I had been after I watched his home movie.

_"The one victim who escaped me… I still regret that I never got a taste…"_

Alice. My Alice. Just how close had she come to being somebody else's meal? I could have lost her before she was even mine to lose. She was the only one for me, the only one who could ever have claim on my unbeating heart, how close had I come to spending eternity alone? This last questioned burned me.

I couldn't understand how Edward could do it. Spending time with Bella when her presence caused him so much discomfort. Now I knew. The physical pain of being with her was nothing compared to the emotional pain of being without her. If Alice were human, could I have abstained? I don't know, but I'm glad I never had to find out.

Alice was disturbed by more than just the factors of her unremembered past being told by a sadist. Her best friend had been tortured after all. She blamed herself for not seeing James' plan. For not seeing Bella's plan. She was now trying to make up for it by taking care of Bella's every want and need. Edward was beyond irritated about that, he views that as his job. However, her logic was undeniable on at least one aspect of the argument. Charlie Swan would not have been pleased with the idea of his teenaged daughter's boyfriend helping her take a shower and Charlie had access to an extensive gun collection.

What really crawled under my skin though, was Victoria. We had gotten the call from Tanya that Laurent had located their coven and was staying with them, but Victoria was in the wind. Once we had gotten Bella home to Forks, that vampire had fled, realizing that James plan had gone south, but every molecule of my being ached to go after her. The humanity in me begged to unleash retribution for my sister's suffering. The monster in me just wanted any threat -- past, present, and future -- annihilated.

Emmett had been in agreement with me and Edward remained on the fence. His desire to protect Bella warred with his desire to not be a monster in her eyes. He honestly didn't think Victoria would cause anymore problems now that James was destroyed and he was afraid that going after her would be nothing but vengeance. Carlisle, always striving to be the pacifist, overruled Emmett and I, and Alice backed him saying she saw no future attack on the horizon.

Emmett was disappointed and I, unnerved. There was a little voice in the back of my head urging me to seek and destroy and, God help me, it was tempting. But I had faith in Carlisle's wisdom and Alice's vision and I began the painstaking process of suppressing the warrior I had tried to bury decades earlier. She was gone. I would not go looking for trouble.

Spring break ended and before we realized what was happening, graduation and prom were upon us. Emmett, Rosalie and I were seniors this year so we would be leaving Forks High behind us. There had been talk between Emmett and Rosalie of taking a trip to Africa. Emmett was sad and excited about the situation at the same time. Sad because he enjoyed getting to know Bella. Emmett was excited because he had gotten into his head the notion of riding a wild elephant. Personally, I didn't see that activity ending well. Rosalie was happy to be going and nobody pretended not to know why. She had made no attempt at getting to know the newest member of the Cullen family and very clearly didn't plan to in the near future.

Me, I wasn't going anywhere. Alice still had another year to go at school and I wasn't going away from Alice. I kind of wished I had failed my exams, an excuse to be held back from graduating senior year, an excuse to accompany Alice to her classes. What the hell am I going to do while she's at school?

I smirked as remembered our graduation day. I had been heading to the living room, passing by Em and Rose's room, when I felt a copious amount of panic…

I knocked politely on the door and the panic behind it spiked.

"Not now!" Emmett barked.

"Are you okay?" I asked through the door.

"Fine! Where's Alice? I need Alice!"

He needed Alice?

"She went with Edward to pick up Bella…" I heard him curse.

I couldn't resist and shoved the door open.

Emmett stood in front of the full length mirror looking horrorstruck as his eyes flicked between his own reflection and the reflection of me standing in the door way.

"Emmett…" I breathed.

"Shut. Up." He growled through his clenched teeth.

Well, now I knew why he needed Alice. I believe in today's pop culture what Emmett was now experiencing was called _a wardrobe malfunction_. He had tried on his gown and it was too small. The hem was at his knees and the fabric was skin tight. How he got it on over his dress clothes, I'll never know. But I couldn't help myself. He looked ridiculous.

I started laughing.

"Shut up, its not funny!"

"You l-look… like… th-the… Incred-ible Hulk." I choked out.

I could even hear that line in my head, _"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."_

"Argh! What am I gonna do? I can't walk across the stage in this!"

Instead of answering, I walked over to the shipping box and took out the copy of the tag Emmett had filled out for the school a couple months prior.

"You idiot." I chuckled as my eyes scanned the order form. "You are 6'5 not 5'6, and your weight is off by at least thirty pounds. What were you doing when you filled this?"

"Um," Emmett averted his eyes, "Rose was…well, her hands were…um…"

"At a school assembly?" I rolled my eyes. "Well, Lou Ferrigno, you better practice shuffling, because its too late to send it back."

I had then gone back to my room and breathed a sigh of relief when I found out my gown was a perfect fit.

Unlike Emmett, Rosalie had tried on her gown earlier in the week and had made some minor modifications to it. She had taken in the top so it was form fitting and now resembled a dress as opposed to a robe.

The ceremony itself had been relatively uneventful. Emmett was indeed forced to shuffle up on to stage to get his diploma, causing him to look like a giant blue penguin. None of the other graduates dared laugh at someone Emmett's size but I knew they would talk about it later. I certainly wasn't going to let him forget. When I had gone up I couldn't help but smirk a little when the principle cringed away from me. I had to hold back more laughter as Rosalie went up and he practically drooled when he caught a glimpse of her with that robe pulled tight across her chest.

Humans. I'm starting to like them. Emmett's right. They are funny.

* * *

Now Alice was insisting everyone go to prom. _Everyone._ Poor Bella had no idea that's why she had been shanghaied out of bed at eight o'clock this morning. Personally, how she could have ignored the bright posters announcing the special occasion is beyond me, but I suppose the pain medications and the fact that Edward and Alice clung to her sides like blinkers on a racehorse might have something to do with it.

* * *

We -- Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and I -- beat Edward and Bella to the now tacky gymnasium. He had to drive at a slower speed to appease her, much to his disgust. Anyway, the décor job on the gym… Wow. It was like that movie _Carrie_. I had to stop and suck in a scorching breath just to make sure there was no bucket of pig's blood lying in wait.

I lost myself in Alice's embrace, twirling around the dance floor. It was easy to ignore the humans tonight and just concentrate on her and I wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Bella's scent was becoming a permanent fixture in our house or if I was too absorbed in the relief that my family was, for the moment, safe. I studied Alice's face, a picture of bliss, and basked in her love. I wasn't dancing to the music anymore, I was dancing to our love, and nothing else mattered in that moment. Not the DJ blaring Flo Rida's _Low_, not the burning human scents tormenting my thirst, not my past nor Alice's, and neither James nor Victoria. I had Alice in my arms and all was well.

Alice giggled. "Jasper, you're projecting!"

I glanced around the room and noticed that the teenagers had indeed been overcome with love. They were holding each other closer than normal, some were staring deep into each other's eyes while others ground against each other trying to physically express their feelings. I grinned and reined in the emotion, laughing at the blush on Lauren Mallory's face as she removed her tongue from the ear of a boy named Conner.

"Shameless," Alice whispered at me, but grinned humorously all the while.

Edward and Bella finally came in, Bella looking disgruntled and Edward amused. I knew right away the amusement had nothing to do with my slip up, it was Bella that had him in good spirits. He only had eyes for her. The annoyance from her disappeared as she returned his gaze and the love flowed between them like an electrical current.

I was worried about them. I knew love like theirs was strong, one of a kind, and eternal. I hadn't known much of love before Alice, and even less before Peter and Charlotte, but these days it seemed that I was surrounded by it, and I was learning quickly. Part of me wished that Edward had just let Bella finish the conversion that day, finish it while we had the upper hand. I wished this because I was afraid for them. How long could this go on? Them existing together, but separated by the worlds they belonged to... Her so fragile and impermanent, him forever a slave to his own immortality. Everyday Edward would have to worry if the day had come when he would lose her, to disease, to old age, to someone else's violence, or to her own bad luck. The two were dancing on thin ice and it wouldn't take much to melt the surface and drown them both.

I shook my head and shoved those thoughts away for a later date. Tonight was a night for celebrations.

At some point Alice and Rosalie headed off to the restrooms to fix their hair or whatever it is female vampires do in bathrooms, leaving me and Emmett standing inconspicuously by the refreshment table.

"So, Jazz, I heard Newton's throwing an after party." Emmett grinned mischievously at me. "Normally, we don't attend those, but I figure since this year is so special, we should commemorate it by crashing… What do you think?"

I debated in my mind the pros and cons of going to the party. On the one hand I didn't feel crazy about the idea of being in a stuffy house with the humans, it felt like I would be asking to much of my luck and restraint. On the other hand it would be fun to see the look on Mike's face when our family walked through the door.

"Maybe we should ask Edward first," I suggested.

Edward had done a lot of complaining about Mike Newton's thoughts as they applied to Bella, and I knew Emmett planned to leave an impression if we did crash the party. Edward should have say in this decision. I knew he might enjoy the opportunity to antagonize Mike in his own home.

"Well, _go_," Emmett said gesturing with his hand. "I saw Edward take Bella outside."

I nodded and made my way to the door.

I opened it and froze.

I could see the two of them sitting on a bench near the edge of the encroaching woods. Bella was bent backwards, Edward's hands supporting her, his lips pressed firmly to her neck, just above her carotid artery. The love was still there, as I was sure it always would be from now on, but now she had an undercurrent of anxiety and he had one of annoyance. I closed the doors quickly and made my way back to Emmett before I could be discovered.

"Well? Are we going or not?" Emmett asked.

I grinned widely at the test of wills going on outside and answered, "Don't know. I didn't get the chance to ask."

"Why not?" He was disappointed more than curious.

"They were busy." I told him and chuckled.

Surprisingly he let the matter drop.

Yes, I was worried about Bella and Edward. But as the image of them entwined in the moonlight -- her nervous but not fighting, him fighting but not nervous -- flashed before my eyes, I couldn't help but grin in amusement. This fragile, stubborn, human girl had changed everything and she didn't even know it. And poor, unsuspecting Edward had been swept off his feet by her, not the other way around.

All worries aside, things were bound to get interesting.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

_Yes, its finished!_

_First I'd like to thank everyone of my readers. I know I don't always respond to your reviews, but I do appreciate them, and I love that you leave them and I love that you've been reading my story and I just love you all in general._

_I know a lot of you are curious, will there be a sequel? The answer is YES. Originally I wasn't planning on having a sequel, but I have been missing writing from Jasper's pov, so I allowed myself to cave in to demands. Jaspers New Moon will be title **Storm Front. **Be sure to follow my blog at http://equivampsnotebook(dot)blogspot(dot)com (link on profile) for updates on this story._

_Thirdly, I made a few pop culture references and I'd like to explain (I know younger readers might not know). _

_I am sure you all recognize the name **the** **Incredible** **Hulk** from the movies and comic books. I have not seen the movies, I was referring to the TV show. In the TV show the Hulk had this famous line :"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." I do not know if he says that in the movie but I do know that Jacob says a similar line in New Moon movie. I did not steal from New Moon. They stole from Hulk in my opinion. __Lou Ferrigno is a famous body builder who, you might have guessed this already, portrayed the Hulk in the TV series. Apparently Jasper likes the Hulk. Who knew?_

_The movie Carrie is about a girl whose telekinetic powers are triggered by stress and she's bullied for having a super religious mom and goes crazy when the popular kids dump pigs blood on her at prom._

_Thanks again to everyone who has read this and supported me. I hope I did Jaspers epilogue justice!_


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